Wind energy generation is an increasingly important contribution to the UKs electricity supply, currently supplying 20% of the UKs electricity. Large offshore wind farms are being designed to increase this still further, but there are considerable design challenges associated with these structures. This task focuses on the design of an offshore wind turbine.
A wind turbine has six main components: rotor, blades, shaft, gearbox, electricity generator, and tower. Energy storage is also often required, to make use of spikes in wind power during periods when there is insufficient grid demand.
The materials used in a wind turbine are many and varied but are carefully chosen for their properties, such as mechanical, physical, and chemical, as well as economic. Different materials are used for different parts.
The gearbox assembly is usually the heaviest part of a wind turbine and is housed in the nacelle on top of the wind turbine tower. Even a small 1.5 MW wind turbine nacelle can weigh more than 50,000kg. It challenging to support a 55-tonne box approximately 100 m up in the air in the windiest location.