Effect of piezoelectric patch size and material on active vibration control of wind turbine blades

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of piezoelectric actuator patch size and material on the active vibration control of wind turbine blades. Methods This work builds on a recently developed numerical technique to reduce vibrations in wind turbine blades. Control action is achieved by bonding a piezoelectric actuator on the upper surface of the blade and a similar piezoelectric sensor on the blade’s lower surface. An approximate analytical method is used to solve the governing equations to obtain dynamic characteristics of the smart blade. Modal coordinates are used to obtain the model in state space form, then a linear quadratic regulator controller is used to provide active control. Results The system is solved for different piezoelectric patch sizes and materials. Results show that increasing the values of piezoelectric stress/charge (e₃₁) increases both the maximum blade displacement and required actuation force. Conclusions Using piezoelectric patches with reduced (e₃₁) can effectively decrease blade vibrations.