The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Sairam, Kedharnath
Language:	English
Published:	University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK 2013
Subjects:	Engineering Wind turbine Radial area variation Axial induction factor
Online Access:	http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367942736

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spelling	ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-ucin13679427362021-08-03T05:23:24Z The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor Sairam, Kedharnath Engineering Wind turbine Radial area variation Axial induction factor Many countries around the world are realizing the importance of renewable energy for a sustainable future and are investing in various 'Green Technologies'. Improvements in the aerodynamic design will lead to more efficient wind turbines with higher power production. In the present study, a 3-D parametric gas turbine blade geometry building code, 3DBGB, has been modified in order to include wind turbine design capabilities. This approach enables greater flexibility of the design along with the ability to design more complex geometries with relative ease. A wind turbine design code was developed using the Blade-Element-Momentum theory in order to aid the process of boot-strapping the inputs to 3DBGB. The NREL NASA Phase VI wind turbine was considered as a test case for validation and as a baseline by which modified designs could be compared. The design parameters were translated into 3DBGB input to create a 3D model of the wind turbine which can also be imported into any CAD program. Design modifications included replacing the airfoil section, modifying the thickness to chord ratio as a function of span, running constant chord and adding winglets. These models were imported into a high-fidelity CFD package, Fine/TURBO by NUMECA. Fine/TURBO is a specialized CFD platform for turbo-machinery analysis. A code - geomturbo - was used to convert the 3D model of the wind turbine into the native format used to define geometries in the Fine/TURBO meshing tool, AutoGrid. The CFD results were post processed using a newly developed 3D force analysis code. The radial forces were found to play a significant role in the performance of wind turbine blades. The radial component of the blade surface area as it varies in span is the dominant contributor of the radial forces. Through the radial momentum equation, these radial forces are responsible for creating the streamline curvature that leads to the expansion of the streamtube (slipstream) that is responsible for slowing the wind velocity ahead of the wind turbine leading edge, which is quantified as the axial induction factor. These same radial forces also play a role in changing the slipstream for propellors. Through the design modifications, simulated with CFD and post-processed appropriately, this connection with the radial component of area to the radial forces to the axial induction factor, and finally the wind turbine power is demonstrated. The results from the CFD analysis and 3D force analysis are presented in this thesis. 2013-10-11 English text University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367942736 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367942736 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center.
collection	NDLTD
language	English
sources	NDLTD
topic	Engineering Wind turbine Radial area variation Axial induction factor
spellingShingle	Engineering Wind turbine Radial area variation Axial induction factor Sairam, Kedharnath The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor
author	Sairam, Kedharnath
author_facet	Sairam, Kedharnath
author_sort	Sairam, Kedharnath
title	The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor
title_short	The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor
title_full	The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor
title_fullStr	The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor
title_full_unstemmed	The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor
title_sort	influence of radial area variation on wind turbines to the axial induction factor
publisher	University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK
publishDate	2013
url	http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1367942736
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The Influence of Radial Area Variation on Wind Turbines to the Axial Induction Factor

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