Attenuation of Vortex-Induced Vibration in Wind Turbine Towers using Wire Meshes

Vortex-Induced Vibrations (VIV) poses significant challenges during the assembly process of wind turbines, before the rotor and the nacelle are installed at the top end of the tower. As tower sizes increase in height either in onshore or offshore applications, there is the need to control VIV. Wire meshes have been shown to be able to control and suppress most of VIV in low mass-damping configurations by altering flow patterns, offering a promising alternative to other flow control or damping systems.

A scaled-down wind turbine tower model has been constructed, consisting of a cylindrical body attached in its bottom end to a cantilevered leaf spring to replicate the structural dynamics of typical wind turbine towers. Wind tunnel (1.84x1.22 m² working section facility) measurements include the characterization of the dynamic response of the tower model and the forces acting on the cylinder because of the incoming uniform wind profile. Results will be presented and compared for different models, including a reference plain model (without wire mesh) and models with different wire mesh configurations, with variations in mesh coverage ratio, location, and size, to identify the most effective suppression setup.