Ricerc@Sapienza

The present work addresses the modeling of the mechanical behavior of wind turbine blades considered as suitable curved, twisted and tapered beam- like structures, which are likely to undergo large displacements, small strains and 3D cross-sectional warping. After an introduction to modeling approaches for structures of this kind, a model suitable for the problem at hand is proposed. Such a model is based on a geometrically exact approach. It provides a means to determine the strain and stress fields in the structure and can be used for the analyses of large deflections under prescribed loads, as well as for aero-elastic analyses, provided a suitable aerodynamic model is added.