Preliminary analysis of a concept wind turbine blade with piecewise constant chord and constant twist angle using BEM method

Abstract

Preliminary analysis of a concept wind turbine blade is performed using Blade Element Momentum method. The concept wind turbine blade consists of sections with constant chord and twist angle. The spanwise length of each section and the twist angle in each section is obtained numerically with using an optimization algorithm together with Blade Element Momentum theory. Using the optimization algorithm several different concept wind turbine blades are analysed using the very well-known National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Unsteady Aerodynamics Experiment Phase VI wind turbine blade geometry. The aerodynamic performances of these concept wind turbine blades are compared with the results of the original UAE Phase VI blade. The concept design offers the wind turbine blades to be manufactured easily using cheaper manufacturing techniques with the highest quality and also with the possibility of being designed as modular while having almost the same aerodynamic efficiency of a tapered and twisted wind turbine blade. © 2022 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.