A summary of the fatigue properties of wind turbine materials

Abstract

Modern wind turbines are fatigue-critical machines that are typically used to produce electrical power from the wind. The materials used to construct these machines are subjected to a unique loading spectrum that contains several orders of magnitude more cycles than other fatigue-critical structures, e.g. an aeroplane. To facilitate fatigue designs, a large database of material properties has been generated over the past several years that is specialized to materials typically used in wind turbines. This article reviews the fatigue data that have been developed especially for wind turbines. Major sections are devoted to the properties developed for metals (primarily aluminium), wood and fibreglass. Special emphasis is placed on the fibreglass discussion because this material is currently the material of choice for wind turbine blades. The article focuses on the data developed in the US, but cites European references that provide important insights. Published in 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.