Evaluation of LM 43.8P blade performance at different hub height wind speeds using blade element momentum theory

Abstract

An investigation was conducted on a three-bladed rotor similar to AVANTIS AV908. The rotor blade is appropriate for a Class I wind turbine generator and consists of three LM 43.8P blades. The 2.5 MW gearless wind turbine generator has a rated rotational speed of 16 rpm. An analysis of the LM 43.8P blade’s aerodynamics was carried out using the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) Theory to assess the turbine’s performance at different hub height wind speeds. The study employed three BEM models, including the original BEM concept without correction factors, the BEM Theory by DNV/Ris0, and the BEM Theory obtained from GH Bladed. The rotor radius is 45.1 m, and the blade comprises five different airfoils with a design tip speed ratio of 7.557. The axial and tangential induction factors, lift and drag coefficients, aerodynamic forces, and torque profiles as a function of the nondimensional rotor blade were calculated and compared with the numerical solutions obtained from the BEM models at varying upstream wind speeds. The calculation results revealed that with the original BEM concept, the axial induction factor for this particular blade became larger than 0.5 when the upstream wind speed was less than 7.45 m/s. This suggests that the Momentum Theory becomes invalid for lower wind speeds. However, the thrust force, driving force, and torque may be considerably over-predicted with hub height wind speeds larger than 9.50 m/s. It was found that out of the three models considered, the GH Bladed BEM model bears a striking resemblance with the actual power curve of AV908 with a confidence level above 95%, as indicated by a correlation coefficient of 0.99915 and a t-value of 0.51606 using Student’s t-test, implying that the two power curves have no significant difference.