Validation of a numerical model for seismic behavior of wind turbine nacelle components using experimental data

With the development of offshore and onshore wind farms, seismic risks must be considered as some installations may be located in earthquake-prone areas. Traditionally, shake table testing has been the most direct and effective method for assessing the seismic performance of wind turbines. However, as turbine sizes increase, shake tables face limitations in size and capacity, making them unsuitable for testing large turbines or their nacelles. Moreover, the internal components of the nacelle are often functionally critical, and resonance between these key components and the tower during strong earthquakes may lead to failure risks. Still, critical components within the nacelle may be tested if the seismic responses at their anchoring points are known and used as input for shake table tests. Therefore, this study aims to develop a detailed and reliable numerical model, based on shake table test results of a 660 kW onshore wind turbine nacelle, to obtain realistic responses at the anchoring points of critical nacelle components. These responses can then be used to support the seismic testing of individual components. This paper presents a detailed description of the development process and key aspects of the numerical model. Model parameters are calibrated using the experimentally identified natural frequencies of individual components. The model’s accuracy and applicability are then verified through comparisons between numerical and experimental results. Finally, the numerical analysis results are discussed in detail, verifying that the numerical method is feasible for obtaining the seismic responses at the anchoring points of internal nacelle components. • Numerical method validated based on full nacelle system shaking table tests. • Validation of a method to estimate seismic inputs for wind turbine components. • Input motion estimation enables component-level seismic performance evaluation. • Study supports realistic seismic verification of large wind turbine nacelle systems.