Herbert J. Sutherland

Geometric Dispersion of Acoustic Waves by a Fibrous Composite

This study was initiated to examine the transmission of acoustic waves through a fibrous composite whose only dispersive mechanism was geometric. The elastic-elastic composite chosen for study was composed of tungsten wires embedded in an aluminum matrix. This unidirectional com posite was manufactured in two constituent ratios, 2.2 and 22.1 percent by volume of tungsten. The dispersive characteristics of these composites were determined for harmonic waves propagating normal to the axes of the fibers by using standard water-bath techniques with wide-band transducers. The dispersion data obtained demonstrate that fibrous composites be have as wave filters which selectively transmit or reflect periodic waves. Further, this wave filtering is shown to be a boundary layer phenomenon which can and must be eliminated from dispersion data if it is to be meaningful.

A Summary of the Fatigue Properties of Wind Turbine Materials

Modern wind turbines are fatigue critical machines that are typically used to produce electrical power from the wind. The materials used to construct these machines are subjected to a unique loading spectrum that contains several orders of magnitude more cycles than other fatigue critical structures, e.g., an airplane. To facilitate fatigue designs, a large database of material properties has been generated over the past several years that is specialized to materials typically used in wind turbines. In this paper, I review these fatigue data. Major sections are devoted to the properties developed for wood, metals (primarily aluminum) and fiberglass. Special emphasis is placed on the fiberglass discussion because this material is current the material of choice for wind turbine blades. The paper focuses on the data developed in the U.S., but cites European references that provide important insights.

Effect of mean stress on the damage of wind turbine blades

In many analyses of composite wind turbine blades, the effects of mean stress on the determination of damage are either ignored completely or they are characterized inadequately. An updated Goodman diagram for the fiberglass materials that are typically used in wind turbine blades has been released recently. This diagram, which is based on the MSU/DOE Fatigue Database, contains detailed information at thirteen Rvalues. This diagram is the most detailed to date, and it includes several loading conditions that have been poorly represented in earlier studies. This formulation allows the effects of mean stress on damage calculations to be evaluated. The evaluation presented here uses four formulations for the S-N behavior of the fiberglass. In the first analysis, the S-N curve for the composite is assumed to be independent of mean stress and to have a constant slope. The second is a linear Goodman diagram, the third is a bi-linear Goodman diagram and the fourth is the full Goodman diagram. Two sets of load spectra, obtained by the LIST (Long term Inflow and Structural Test) program, are used for this evaluation. The results of the analyses, equivalent fatigue loads and damage predictions, are compared to one another. These results illustrate a significant overestimation of the equivalent fatigue loads when the mean stress is not considered in the calculation. And, the results from the updated Goodman diagram illustrate that there are a significant differences in accumulated damage when the Goodman diagram

A velocity interferometer technique to determine shear‐wave particle velocity in shock‐loaded solids

An optical technique is described which uses velocity interferometers to determine the large particle velocity changes associated with plane shear‐wave propagation. In this technique two velocity interferometers are used to monitor different diffracted laser beams from a surface which undergoes both longitudinal and shear motion. Fringes produced in the interferometer are proportional to a linear combination of both the longitudinal and shear components of the free‐surface velocity. The technique has been used successfully to monitor the free‐surface velocity of a Y‐cut quartz specimen impacted by an X‐cut quartz plate. Although the present shear‐wave velocity profiles are limited to an accuracy of ±10%, the accuracy can be easily increased by an order of magnitude by using longer delay legs and larger diffraction angles.

The long-term inflow and structural test program

The Long-term Inflow and Structural Test (LIST) program is collecting long-term, continuous inflow and structural response data to characterize the extreme loads on wind turbines. A heavily instrumented Micon 65/13M turbine with SERI 8-m blades is being used as the first test turbine for this test program. This turbine and its two sister turbines are located in Bushland, TX a test site that exposes the turbines to a wind regime that is representative of a Great Plains commercial site. The turbines and their inflow are being characterized with 60 measurements: 34 to characterize the inflow, 19 to characterize structural response, and 7 to characterize the time-varying state of the turbine. The primary characterization of the inflow into the LIST turbine relies upon an array of five sonic anemometers. These three-axis anemometers are placed approximately 2-diameters upstream of the turbine in a pattern designed to describe the inflow. Primary characterization of the structural response of the turbine uses several sets of strain gauges to measure bending loads on the blades and the tower and two accelerometers to measure the motion of the nacelle. Data from the various instruments are sampled at a rate of 30 Hz using a newly developed data acquisition system that features a time-synchronized continuous data stream that is telemetered from the turbine rotor. The data, taken continuously, are automatically divided into 10-minute segments and archived for analysis. Preliminary data are presented to illustrate the operation of the turbine and the data acquisition and analysis system.

Acoustical determination of stress relaxation functions for polymers

An analysis of acoustic waves in viscoelastic materials reveals that the stress relaxation function for such materials can be evaluated from acoustic dispersion data. In this paper we illustrate this method by evaluating the longitudinal stress relaxation function for the solid polymer, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) using previously reported acoustic data. From this result, we deduce the relaxation function appropriate for describing the shock wave response of PMMA by specifying the time‐scale characteristic of plate impact experiments. This relaxation function compares well with the function determined from the experimental observations of steady shock waves in PMMA.

The development of confidence limits for fatigue strength data

Over the past several years, extensive databases have been developed for the S-N behavior of various materials used in wind turbine blades, primarily fiberglass composites. These data are typically presented both in their raw form and curve fit to define their average properties. For design, confidence limits must be placed on these descriptions. In particular, most designs call for the 95/95 design values; namely, with a 95% level of confidence, the designer is assured that 95% of the material will meet or exceed the design value. For such material properties as the ultimate strength, the procedures for estimating its value at a particular confidence level is well defined if the measured values follow a normal or a log-normal distribution. Namely, based upon the number of sample points and their standard deviation, a commonly-found table may be used to determine the survival percentage at a particular confidence level with respect to its mean value. The same is true for fatigue data at a constant stress level (the number of cycles to failure N at stress level S{sub 1}). However, when the stress level is allowed to vary, as with a typical S-N fatigue curve, the procedures for determining confidence limits are not as well defined. This paper outlines techniques for determining confidence limits of fatigue data. Different approaches to estimating the 95/95 level are compared. Data from the MSU/DOE and the FACT fatigue databases are used to illustrate typical results.

Analysis of the Structural and Inflow Data From the List Turbine

The Long-term Inflow and Structural Test (LIST) program is collecting long-term, continuous inflow and structural response data to characterize the spectrum of loads on wind turbines. A heavily instrumented Micon 65/13M turbine with Phoenix 8m blades is being used as the test turbine for the first measurement campaign of this program. This turbine is located in Bushland, TX, a test site that exposes the turbine to a wind regime representative of a Great Plains commercial site. The turbine and inflow are being characterized with 60 measurements: 34 to characterize the inflow, 19 to characterize structural response, and seven to characterize the time-varying state of the turbine. In this paper an analysis of the structural and inflow data is presented. Particular attention is paid to the determination of the various structural loads on the turbine, long-term fatigue spectra and the correlation of various inflow descriptors with fatigue loads. For the latter analysis, the inflow is described by various parameters, including the mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis of the hub-height horizontal wind speed, turbulence intensity, turbulence length scales, Reynolds stresses, local friction velocity, Obukhov length, and the gradient Richardson number The fatigue load spectrum corresponding to these parameters is characterized as an equivalent fatigue load. A regression analysis is then used to determine which parameters are correlated to the fatigue loads. The results illustrate that the vertical component of the inflow is the most important of the secondary inflow parameters with respect to fatigue loads. Long-term fatigue spectra illustrate that extrapolation of relatively short-term data to longer times is consistent for the data reported here.

Acoustical determination of the shear relaxation functions for polymethyl methacrylate and Epon 828-Z

A differential‐path ultrasonic technique is used to obtain the acoustic propagation characteristics of shear waves in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and Epon 828‐Z. The acoustic velocity and attenuation are measured at 0.5, 1, and 2 MHz over a temperature range of −60 to 70 °C. Time‐temperature superposition is used to transform these data into their ’’master curve’’ form. Using this representation, the shear‐stress relaxation modulus is then deduced and combined with the previously determined longitudinal data to form a complete characterization of the short‐time linear response of these two homogeneous and isotropic viscoelastic polymers.

INFLOW AND FATIGUE RESPONSE OF THE NWTC ADVANCED RESEARCH TURBINE

The Long-term Inflow and Structural Test (LIST) program is collecting long-term inflow and structural response data to characterize the spectrum of loads on wind turbines. In one of the measurement campaigns being conducted under this program, the 42-m diameter, 600-kW NWTC Advanced Research Turbine (ART) was monitored. The turbine is an upwind, two-bladed teetered-hub machine. It has full span pitch control and a synchronous generator. The inflow was monitored with a planar array of five high-resolution sonic anemometers and supporting meteorological instrumentation located 1.5 diameters upwind of the turbine. The structural response of the turbine was measured using strain gauge circuits and an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The former were used to monitor root bending moments and the low-speed shaft torque, while the latter was used to monitor the motion of the tower and the nacelle. Auxiliary gauges measured blade pitch, rotor teeter, nacelle yaw and generator power. A total of 3299 10-minute records were collected for analysis. From this set, 1044 records are used to examine the influence of various inflow parameters on fatigue loads. Long-term fatigue loads and extreme loads are also examined.© 2003 ASME