Basic Theory For Wind Turbine Blade Aerodynamics

The performance of a wind turbine includes the power, torque and thrust� This chapter describes the basic theory on determining the amount of energy captured by the rotor� The rotor thrust has great influence on the structural design of the tower� It is usually convenient to express the performance by means of non-dimensional, characteristic performance curves from which the actual performance can be determined regardless of how the turbine is operated, for example, at constant rotational speed or some regime of variable rotor speed� The blade element momentum theory, full computer simulation using Reynoldsaveraged Navier–Stokes method, Prandtl’s analysis and advanced turbulence models are discussed�