Tower dynamic response analysis of wind turbines during primary frequency regulation

Yingwei Wang
The School of Electrical Engineering, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870, China
Aolin Song
The Northeast Branch of State Grid Corporation of China, Shenyang 110001, China
Tingxiang Zhang
The Northeast Branch of State Grid Corporation of China, Shenyang 110001, China
Yilin Du
The Northeast Branch of State Grid Corporation of China, Shenyang 110001, China

Article ID: 4263

Keywords: wind turbine; tower; primary frequency regulation; vibration of side-to-side bending moment

Abstract

As wind turbines increasingly participate in Primary Frequency Regulation (PFR) to support grid frequency stability, the accompanying mechanical load variations pose a potential threat to structural reliability. However, the underlying aero-electro-mechanical coupling mechanisms by which PFR-induced power and torque fluctuations affect tower dynamics have not been fully clarified. This study develops a multidimensional analytical model of a wind turbine with PFR to reveal the transmission path from grid frequency deviations to generator torque variations and subsequently to tower side-to-side (SS) bending moments. Frequency-domain and time-domain analyses show that generator torque, rather than aerodynamic thrust, is the dominant excitation source for tower SS vibration during PFR. The results further indicate that this excitation is highly phase-sensitive: the amplification or suppression of tower vibration depends on the instantaneous phase alignment between the torque disturbance and the tower’s natural sway cycle. Therefore, identical PFR commands may lead to substantially different structural responses when activated at different instants. The analytical conclusions are validated using high-fidelity FAST co-simulations under stochastic wind and grid-disturbance scenarios. Quantitative fatigue evaluation shows that uncoordinated PFR may increase the tower SS Damage Equivalent Load (DEL) by up to 600% in low-wind-speed regimes. These findings demonstrate that future wind turbine PFR controllers should incorporate phase-aware coordination strategies to reduce structural resonance and fatigue risks while maintaining effective grid frequency support.

Published

2026-07-21

How to Cite

Wang, Y., Song, A., Zhang, T., & Du, Y. (2026). Tower dynamic response analysis of wind turbines during primary frequency regulation. Sound & Vibration, 60(4). https://doi.org/10.59400/sv4263

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Issue

Vol. 60 No. 4 (2026)

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Article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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