Abstract
Based on an unperturbed airflow assumption and using a set of validated modelling methods, a series of activities were carried out to optimise an aerodynamic design of a small wind turbine for a built up area, where wind is significantly weaker and more turbulent than those open sites preferable for wind farms. These activities includes design of the blades using a FORTRAN code; design of the nose cones and nacelles, which then constituted the rotor along with the blades; optimisation of the rotor designs in the virtual wind tunnel developed in the first part of the study; and finally, estimation of the annual power output of this wind turbine calculated using hourly wind data of a real Scottish Weather Station. The predicted annual output of the finalised rotor was then compared with other commercial turbines and result was rather competitive.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1637-1651 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Renewable Energy |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2008 |
Keywords
- Blade design
- Blade element momentum (BEM)
- Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
- Virtual wind tunnel
- Power output