Blades

The ratio between the speed of the blade tips and the speed of the wind is called tip speed ratio. High efficiency 3-blade-turbines have tip speed/wind speed ratios of 6 to 7. Modern wind turbines are designed to spin at varying speeds (a consequence of their generator design, see above). Use of aluminum and composite materials in their blades has contributed to low rotational inertia, which means that newer wind turbines can accelerate quickly if the winds pick up, keeping the tip speed ratio more nearly constant. Operating closer to their optimal tip speed ratio during energetic gusts of wind allows wind turbines to improve energy capture from sudden gusts that are typical in urban settings. The speed and torque at which a wind turbine rotates must be controlled for several reasons: To keep the rotor and hub within their centripetal force limits. The centripetal force from the spinning rotors increases as the square of the rotation speed, which makes this structure sensitive to overspeed. To keep the rotor and tower within their strength limits. Because the power of the wind increases as the cube of the wind speed, turbines have to be built to survive much higher wind loads (such as gusts of wind) than those from which they can practically generate power. Since the blades generate more downwind force (and thus put far greater stress on the tower) when they are producing torque, most wind turbines have ways of reducing torque in high winds.
deflection of blades in a downwind column To avoid buckling, doubling the tower height generally requires doubling the diameter of the tower as well, increasing the amount of material by a factor of at least four. Foundation

Wind turbines, by their nature, are very tall slender structures,[12] this can cause a number of issues when the structural design of the foundations are considered. The foundations for a conventional engineering structure are designed mainly to transfer the vertical load (dead weight) to the ground, this generally allows for a comparatively unsophisticated arrangement to be used. However in the case of wind turbines, due to the high wind and environmental loads experienced there is a significant horizontal load that needs to be accounted for. This loading regime causes large moment loads to be applied to the foundations of a wind turbine. As a result, considerable attention needs to be given when designing the footings to ensure that the turbines are sufficiently restrained to operate efficiently.[13] In the current Det Norske Veritas (DNV) guidelines for the design of wind turbines the angular deflection of the foundations are limited to 0.5,[14] DNV guidelines regarding earthquakes suggest that horizontal

loads are larger than vertical loads for offshore wind turbines, while guidelines for tsunamis only suggest designing for maximum sea waves.[15] Scale model tests using a 50g centrifuge are being performed at the Technical University of Denmark to test monopile foundations for offshore wind turbines at 30-50m water depth.
When you are building wind turbines, you have to take the strength, the dynamic behaviour, and the fatigue properties of your materials and the entire assembly into consideration. Wind turbines are built to catch the wind's kinetic (motion) energy.

Turbines with many blades or very wide blades, i.e. turbines with a very solid rotor, however, will be subject to very large forces, when the wind blows at a hurricane speed. (Remember, that the energy content of the wind varies with the third power (the cube) of the wind speed). Wind turbine manufacturers have to certify that their turbines are built, so that they can withstand extreme winds which occur, say, during 10 minutes once every 50 years. To limit the influence of the extreme winds turbine manufacturers therefore generally prefer to build turbines with a few, long, narrow blades. In order to make up for the narrowness of the blades facing the wind, turbine manufacturers prefer to let the turbines rotate relatively quickly. Fatigue Loads (Forces) Wind turbines are subject to fluctuating winds , and hence fluctuating forces. This is particularly the case if they are located in a very turbulent wind climate. Components which are subject to repeated bending, such as rotor blades, may eventually develop cracks which ultimately may make the component break. A historical example is the huge German Growian machine (100 m rotor diameter) which had to be taken out of service after less than three weeks of operation. Metal fatigue is a well known problem in many industries. Metal is therefore generally not favoured as a material for rotor blades. When designing a wind turbine it is extremely important to calculate in advance how the different components will vibrate, both individually, and jointly. It is also important to calculate the forces involved in each bending or stretching of a component. This is the subject of structural dynamics, where physicists have developed mathematical computer models that analyse the behaviour of an entire wind turbine. These models are used by wind turbine manufacturers to design their machines safely. Structural Dynamics: An Example *) A 50 metre tall wind turbine tower will have a tendency to swing back and forth, say, every three seconds. The frequency with which the tower oscillates back and forth is also known as the eigenfrequency of the tower. The eigenfrequency depends on both the height of the tower, the thickness of its walls, the type of steel, and the weight of the nacelle and rotor. Now, each time a rotor blade passes the wind shade of the tower, the rotor will push slightly less against the tower. If the rotor turns with a rotational speed such that a rotor blade passes the tower each time the tower is in one of its extreme positions, then the rotor blade may either dampen or amplify (reinforce) the oscillations of the tower.

The rotor blades themselves are also flexible, and may have a tendency to vibrate, say, once per second. As you can see, it is very important to know the eigenfreqencies of each component in order to design a safe turbine that does not oscillate out of control. *) A very dramatic example of structural dynamic forces at work under influence of the wind (undampened torsion oscillations) is the famous crash of the Tacoma Bridge close to Seattle in the United States.