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Week 6 & 7: Propellers and Wind Turbines: Actuator Disk Theory
Week 6 & 7: Propellers and Wind Turbines: Actuator Disk Theory
Week 6 & 7: Propellers and Wind Turbines: Actuator Disk Theory
A4
A2
A1
u1
u2
p1
p2
A3
u3
p3
u4
p4
Equations
Pressure far upstream and downstream is unaffected: p 4 p1 0
Mass flow through control volume: m A1u1 A2 u 2 A3 u 3 A4 u 4
The disk is very thin: A3 A2 A , where A is the swept area of the rotor.
By continuity, Au 2 Au 3 : u 2 u 3
The force on the disk by the flow is the pressure difference across the disk: F p 2 p3 A
2
2
Bernoulli before disk: p 2 12 u1 u 2
2
2
2
2
Inserting pressures gives force: F 12 A u1 u 4
Force on disk is also the net change in the momentum flow rate: F m u1 u 4
with Momentum flow rate into C.V.: J in m u1
Momentum flow rate out of C.V.: J out m u 4
Equating both forces, using u12 u 42 u1 u 4 u1 u 4 , and re-arranging
gives u 2
1
2
u1 u 4
2
2
Power transmitted by disk: P Fu 2 14 A u1 u 4 u1 u 4
u4
3
2
3
2
3
Using U u1 and
: P Fu 2 14 AU 1 1 14 AU 1
u1
Wind turbine
The flow of kinetic energy by the wind through an
3
area A is Pair 12 AU
The efficiency of a stationary actuator disk is
P
therefore:
Pair
1
2
0.7
0.6
0.5
Efficiency
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
=u /U
4
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
Propeller efficiency
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
Efficiency
Propeller
If we consider a propeller, the power conversion
between actuator disk and fluid is given by the force
and the fluid velocity through the disk, u 2 , but the
useful power is that which is related to the actual
speed of the aircraft, which is U, but the force is
obviously still the same. So the useful output is
Pout FU 12 AU 3 1 2 .
Pout
2
The efficiency is
.
Pturbine 1
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
=u /U
4
10