Computational Fluid Dynamics Approach For Wind Turbine Blade Aerodynamics Design

Abstract

The blades of a wind turbine are a significant component of the structure and therefore much attention should be given to their design� They are the elements of a wind turbine responsible for extracting energy from the moving air by virtue of their shape� How effective the blade shape is at doing this will affect the overall efficiency and performance of the unit, which are of great interest to manufactures and their customers alike� Since blades of commercial wind turbines can reach upwards of 20 m in length, physical test of various designs can become expensive and time consuming� Although there are some general analytical formulas and procedures [1] for determining blade shapes, these tend fall short of producing optimal designs given the several significant in accurate assumptions their derivation is founded upon� It is for this reason, researches have turned to computer simulation to develop and optimize wind turbine blade shape� Computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, is a powerful tool that has been leveraged in many industries including the wind power industry� When applied and executed correctly simulation results very closely approximate actual blade performance and thus can be used to evaluate and identify optimal designs that will perform up to expectations in the real world�