Development of fragility curves of land-based wind turbines with tuned mass dampers under cyclone and seismic loading

Passive damping systems have been widely studied to improve the response of wind turbine structures under operational conditions. However, there is insufficient information on how these systems enhance reliability for extreme loads. Wind farm construction has been growing rapidly in recent decades, thereby moving wind turbine structures to sites with higher seismic and hurricane hazards. This research presents a numerical study performed on three land-based wind turbines, similar to typical turbines installed in Mexican wind farms, under cyclone-induced wind and earthquake action. The fictional location of the turbines is justified by the wind capacity distribution of Mexico, which is a country with high seismic and tropical cyclone risk. The wind field is simulated from semiempirical mean velocity models, and the ground motion records are obtained from real events recorded near the assumed site. All the time history analyses assume that the turbines are in parked condition. The results indicate that a fragility reduction of approximately 80% can be achieved under cyclone-induced winds when passive damping systems are added to the structure, and that the fragility reduction is significantly less under seismic action.

Automated summary

Passive damping systems have been found to significantly reduce the fragility of wind turbine structures under cyclone-induced winds, but with less effectiveness under seismic action. The wind energy distribution and climate conditions in Mexico make it an ideal study location.