A Simplified Free Wake Method for Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine Performance Prediction

Abstract

Based on the assumption that wake geometry of a horizontal-axis wind turbine closely resembles that of a hovering helicopter, a method is presented for predicting the performance of a horizontal-axis wind turbine. A vortex method is used in which the wake is composed of an intense tip-vortex and a diffused inboard wake. Performance parameters are calculated by application of the Biot-Savart law along with the Kutta-Joukowski theorem. Predictions are shown to compare favorably with values from a more complicated full free wake analysis and with existing experimental data, but require more computational effort than an existing fast free wake method.