Wind energy turbines
Electricity generation using wind energy counts as one of the most important competitors in the renewable energy production sector. Wind energy turbines are dynamically excited by wind, waves and earthquakes, which cause tower vibrations and threaten both the structural stability and the service life of these slender structures. Currently, wind energy turbines are designed only for 20 years.
Compared with the manufacturing and maintenance costs, this is economically not efficient enough. The main reason for the lifespan problem is the high number of load changes, which are caused by dynamic excitation forces. In order to build higher and more efficient turbines the Chair of Structural Analysis and Dynamics works on the research and development of new measures for the vibration mitigation of wind turbines. Hereby aero-elastic numeric simulations, which also consider soil-structure interaction, and experimental analysis are being carried out on wind turbines of different sizes.