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Uncertainty analysis of aeroelastic flutter for a large-scale flexible wind turbine blade

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  • Xia, Hongjian
  • Cheng, Honglong
  • Zhang, Qifu
  • Li, Deyuan
  • Lin, Zhibiao

Abstract

As wind turbine blades grow larger, rotating blade aeroelastic flutter may cause instability or fatigue damage. Due to the existence of manufacturing errors in the blade, their structural parameters may be altered, such as stiffness and mass distribution, etc., which can reduce the critical flutter speed. Furthermore, the wind turbine is a complex nonlinear aeroelastic system, and quantifying the uncertainty of numerous local structural parameters leads to a high computational cost. Therefore, an uncertainty analysis framework is proposed to evaluate the effects of variations in structural parameters on aeroelastic flutter. The blade structural model is established using the super-element method based on multibody dynamics theory, which accurately represents nonlinear large deformations while reducing degrees of freedom. By integrating this model with blade element momentum theory and the B–L dynamic stall model, aeroelastic characteristic equations are formulated to numerically identify flutter instability. A hybrid surrogate modeling approach, combining high-dimensional model representation with polynomial chaos expansion, reduces dimensionality by decomposing the problem into low-dimensional sub-problems, improving analysis efficiency. The uncertainty and sensitivity of flutter due to local structural variations are investigated on the DTU 10 MW RWT blade. The results indicate that the torsional stiffness in the middle region is the most critical stiffness parameter, contributing approximately 48% of the variance. In contrast, most root region parameters are insensitive, with contributions below 10%.

Suggested Citation

  • Xia, Hongjian & Cheng, Honglong & Zhang, Qifu & Li, Deyuan & Lin, Zhibiao, 2026. "Uncertainty analysis of aeroelastic flutter for a large-scale flexible wind turbine blade," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PI).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:pi:s0960148125022931
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124629
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    References listed on IDEAS

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