Response control of wind turbines with ungrounded tuned mass inerter system (TMIS) under wind loads

Wind turbine towers are sensitive to wind loads and lose efficiency when suffering excessive wind-induced vibrations. Structural control techniques such as tuned mass dampers (TMD) can be used to reduce the vibration response of the tower. However, the additional mass of this system would occupy a large amount of space within the wind turbine device, which can inconvenience installation and maintenance. An inerter is a high-efficiency two terminal mechanical element for vibration control with the characteristic of mass and damping enhancements. An ungrounded tuned mass inerter system (TMIS) –composed of a tuned mass, a tuned spring and an inerter subsystem – has potential to control wind-induced vibration efficiently. In this study, a simple design method for wind turbine towers equipped with a TMIS under wind loads is proposed, based on structural performance demand as well as control cost. A 1.5 MW wind turbine tower benchmark model is adopted to exemplify the proposed design method. Comparative analyses are conducted between a conventional TMD and the TMIS. Results show that the TMIS can achieve the same vibration control effect as the TMD while using a smaller tuned mass. A sensitivity study of the TMIS is also carried out to investigate the impact of mechanical element parameters on the performance of the vibration mitigation system. It is concluded that the optimal designed TMIS has the advantage of lightweight tuned mass over TMDs in wind-induce vibration control of wind turbine towers.