Fatigue Life of Wind Turbine Blades

The present paper analyses the possibility of reducing the expected damage accumulation during tower passage by modifying the wind turbine tower design from a traditional mono-tower to a tripod. Due to a narrow stagnation zone the stress reversals and hence the damage accumulation in the blades is substantial smaller in the tripod tower design compared to the mono-tower.The present paper analyses the possibility of reducing the expected damage accumulation during tower passage by modifying the wind turbine tower design from a traditional mono-tower to a tripod. Due to a narrow stagnation zone the stress reversals and hence the damage accumulation in the blades is substantial smaller in the tripod tower design compared to the mono-tower