Field measurement, model updating, and response prediction of a large-scale straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine structure

A renewed interest in vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs), especially straight-bladed VAWT (SB-VAWT), has been observed in recent years. Large-scale VAWTs were briefly explored in the 1980s, but have since been the subject of limited research. Thus, this paper presents a systematic investigation of the structural system of a large-scale SB-VAWT recently developed by Hopewell Holdings Limited of Hong Kong. The structural system, field measurement, finite element (FE) modeling, and model updating of the SB-VAWT is introduced sequentially. The proposed structural monitoring system can successfully identify the modal frequencies of the SB-VAWT below 10 Hz. The structural responses of the SB-VAWT are computed with the updated FE model and the simulated wind loads. The comparison between the computed and measured structural responses in the frequency domain shows satisfactory agreement. The results indicate that the proposed dynamic simulation approach based on a well-designed structural monitoring system can reproduce the structural responses of large-scale SB-VAWTs satisfactorily. This approach will shed light on the future analysis and optimization of this type of structure.