On the quantification of structural uncertainties of blades and their effect on wind turbine loads

Offshore wind energy has been on forefront of the renewable sources and is expected to show continuous expansion demanding more efficient design, simulation and production procedures. Aeroelastic codes are important in the design of a wind turbine; these include the coupling of multi-physics phenomena to which turbines are exposed. Requirements for simulation accuracy and precision continue to intensify as the testing costs for such big structures are generally prohibitive. This article shows a non-intrusive uncertainty quantification framework on a turbine aeroelastic model. First, uncertainties are propagated through the structural model of the wind turbine blade. In a second step, the uncertainties in the blade characterisation are propagated through the turbine aeroelastic model by simulation of a random pool of rotors generated from the uncertainty characterisation of the blade. The effects of structural uncertainties from the blades are investigated and quantified on the turbine ultimate and fatigue equivalent loads.