Engineering Models for Wind Turbine Computations

Abstract

In any wind turbine design process, the calculations of the blade loads and rotor performance serve as the foundations of the analyses. In practice, these activities are carried out using simplified methods commonly called “engineering models.” We have learned the basic of wind energy aerodynamics in Chap. 2 and now we will learn further about the fundamental aspects of engineering models in this chapter, which covers two major aspects. The first part deals with the formulations of the momentum theory and the steady blade element momentum (BEM) theory. The analyses are further elaborated in the second part, which deals with the unsteady BEM modeling. Several latest improvements of the modeling strategies are presented in this chapter. Finally, the last part of the chapter deals with the vortex line method and its characteristics.