Finaf Grad Project

CAIRO UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL POWER ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
MEP 480
B. Sc. Graduation Project
Designing, Building and Testing of 1-kW

Horizontal-Axis Small Wind Turbine
By
Ahmed Omar Shaaban

Ahmed Fathi Ibrahim
Mohamed Medhat Kamel
Mohamed Yasser Ahmed
Mostafa Khaled Abd-Elhakim
Under Supervision of
Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Abd Elrahman Dr. Shady Ali
24th July, 2021

Abstract
This document is discussing our graduation project procedures which aims to design and
manufacture a Horizontal Axis small-scale wind turbine (HAWT) with the highest
possible aerodynamic performance with respect to the current case conditions and
available resources, the used airfoil is considered as an optimization done on SG6043
developed specifically for small scale wind turbines that operate at relatively low
Reynolds number (around 60,000).
the main theories used to achieve the optimal design are discussed then used to provide
the main equations which are coded to produce the blades design which is represented by
the distribution of chord and twist angle along the blade, after analyzing the data we
selected the blade design which gives the highest power coefficient to be as near as
possible to the Betz limit, that design was at tIp speed ratio 𝜆 = 5 and the expected
theoretical CP = 0.495, after drawing the blades using SOLIDWORKS we simulated the
performance of the design using ANSYS CFX as our software program to compare
between the theoretical and the power coefficient computed from the simulation, which is
equal 0.45. The design was then assembled with the existing hub, generator and tower
from the projects of the previous years and tested to make sure that it will withstand the
applied forces and stresses while operation, we used SOLIDWORKS as our software
program to simulate the stresses on the design and validate its safety. Finally, we decided
on the 3D printing techniques to be our manufacturing method. The selected material
based on the available in the market is Nylon. The overall height of the blade (1.4 m) is
found to be exceeding the limits of the 3D printing machines (60 cm) so we had to divide
the blade to smaller parts in order to fulfill the requirements of the available printing
machines in Egypt.
II
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the main supervisor of our project Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Abd El-
Rahman the professor and head of the Fluid Mechanics scientific group at the Department
of Mechanical Power Engineering, for being such a role model for us and inspiring us to
push our limits reaching our best performance during the year, without his great efforts
the idea of the project would remain only an idea. We can’t express our appreciation for
him believing in us, setting goals and plans to reach that point of the project.
Second, we appreciate the great effort and time of Dr. Shady Ali our supervisor and
assistant professor in the Fluid Mechanics scientific group at the Department of
Mechanical Power Engineering, we would like to thank him for all his guidance through
the year with the Ansys software simulations that required a lot of dedication and effort,
and for being available when needed to reply our inquires.
Finally, we can’t express how grateful we are for the time and care provided by our
teacher assistant Kareem Sayed to provide his data about optimization on air foil SG6043
and explain everything about his work to help us in our project
III
Table of Content
1. Introduction .........................................................................................................1
1.1. Classification of Small Wind Turbines .........................................................1
1.1.1. Horizontal Axis Small Wind Turbine .....................................................2
1.1.2. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines ..................................................................5
1.2. The Development of Small Wind Turbines ..................................................6
1.3. Challenges of using wind energy ..................................................................8
1.4. The Scope of This Work ...............................................................................9
2. Aerodynamic Theory of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines ................................10
2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................10
2.1.1. Assumptions: .........................................................................................10
2.2. Actuator disk theory ....................................................................................10
2.2.1. Conservation of mass ............................................................................11
2.2.2. Conservation of Momentum .................................................................13
2.2.3. Conservation of Angular Momentum ...................................................14
2.2.4. Conservation of Energy ........................................................................15
2.2.5. Turbine Operating Parameters and Optimum Performance .................16
2.3. Blade Element/Momentum Theory .............................................................18
2.3.1. The Conservation Equations for Annular Streamtubes ........................18
IV
2.3.2. The Forces Acting on a Blade Element ................................................21
2.3.3. Combining the Equations for the Streamtube and the Blade Element .23
3. Optimal Blade Design .......................................................................................24
3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................24
3.2. Variable Speed Operation ...........................................................................24
3.3. Airfoil Selection ..........................................................................................26
3.4. Design Parameters and Procedures .............................................................27
3.4.1. Design Parameters.................................................................................27
3.4.2. Design Procedure ..................................................................................27
3.5. Final Design and Analysis Results ..............................................................27
4. CFD Analysis ....................................................................................................35
4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................35
4.2. Geometry and Domain Meshing .................................................................35
4.3. Boundary Conditions and Model Setup ......................................................42
4.4. Simulation Results .......................................................................................51
5. Stress Analysis ..................................................................................................55
5.1. Introduction .................................................................................................55
5.2. loading conditions .......................................................................................55
5.3. Finite Element Model ..................................................................................58
5.4. Stress Analysis Results ................................................................................59
6. Manufacturing ...................................................................................................61
V
6.1. The 3D printing Technology .......................................................................61
6.2. Blade Sections Joining Method ...................................................................63
7. References .........................................................................................................64
APPENDIX (A): MATLAB Codes .........................................................................65
Optimal chord-twist angle distribution code ........................................................65
Blade element analysis code of Chapter 5 of (Wood, 2011) ................................66
APPENDIX (B): Components Drawings ................................................................70
Blade CAD ...........................................................................................................70
Hub CAD ..............................................................................................................71
Generator CAD .....................................................................................................72
Tower CAD ..........................................................................................................73
APPENDIX (C): Airfoil Coordination ....................................................................74
VI
List of Tables
Table 1. Aerodynamics performance of the optimum profiles at Re=59,315 .........26
Table 2. Optimum chord-twist angle distribution @ TSR = 5 ................................28
Table 3. Mesh Setup.................................................................................................40
Table 4. Mesh Statistics ...........................................................................................41
Table 5. Boundary Conditions .................................................................................42
Table 6. Model Setup ...............................................................................................46
VII
List of figures
Figure 1. Small HAWT ..............................................................................................2
Figure 2. Upwind HAWT ..........................................................................................3
Figure 3. Down-wind HAWT ....................................................................................4
Figure 4. Variation of number of blades in HAWT ...................................................5
Figure 5. Types of VAWTs .......................................................................................5
Figure 6. Annual and cumulative installed small wind turbine capacity...................6
Figure 7. Total failure of wind turbine due to extreme wind conditions ...................8
Figure 8. Control volume for wind turbine of radius R in steady uniform flow .....10
Figure 9. Variation of CP and CT with axial induction factor a..............................18
Figure 10. Annular streamtube intersecting a blade element ..................................19
Figure 11. Velocities for blade element at radius r ..................................................22
Figure 12. Lift and drag on a blade element ............................................................22
Figure 13. Variation of blade geometry parameter with local speed ratio ..............25
Figure 14. Variation of inflow angle with local speed ratio ....................................25
Figure 15. The variation of L/D with angle of attack for the four scenarios ...........26
Figure 16. Cp vs optimum TSR for multiple designs ..............................................28
Figure 17. Optimum chord-twist angle distribution @ TSR = 5 .............................29
Figure 18. Cp, TSR vs wind speed ..........................................................................30
Figure 19. Predicted velocity through the rotor .......................................................31
Figure 20. Predicted circulation along the blade .....................................................31
VIII
Figure 21. Predicted torque along the blade ............................................................32
Figure 22. Predicted thrust along the blade .............................................................32
Figure 23. Torque vs wind speed curve showing cut-in speed ................................33
Figure 24. Rotor output power vs wind speed .........................................................34
Figure 25. Modeling the rotor on SOLIDWORKS .................................................35
Figure 26. Dimensions of ambient and rotating domains ........................................36
Figure 27. Inflation layers demonstration ................................................................37
Figure 28. Hub excluded from fine meshing ...........................................................37
Figure 29Mesh metric(skewness) ............................................................................38
Figure 30Mesh metric (Element Quality) ................................................................39
Figure 31Mesh metric (Aspect Ratio) .....................................................................40
Figure 32. Y plus on the rotor surface .....................................................................51
Figure 33 Velocity in Y direction at the rotating domain inlet................................52
Figure 34velocity in stationary frame ......................................................................52
Figure 35. Pressure distribution ...............................................................................53
Figure 36velocity vector ..........................................................................................53
Figure 37. An energy extracting actuator disc and stream-tube ..............................55
Figure 38centrifugal force demonstration................................................................57
Figure 39 Applied forces and rotational speed direction .........................................58
Figure 40 stress analysis results demonstration .......................................................59
Figure 41. Displacement results demonstration.......................................................60
IX
Figure 42. Minimum distance between blades and tower .......................................60
Figure 43. 3-D Printer ..............................................................................................61
Figure 44. Working drawing of rotor blade .............................................................62
Figure 45. Stress-Strain curve for Nylon 101 ..........................................................62
Figure 46. T-section joining method........................................................................63
X
NOMENCLATURE
A Swept area of blades (m2)
𝑎, 𝑎′ Axial and rotational induction factors respectively

Ca Axial force coefficient
Ca0 Tangential force coefficient
Cl Two-dimensional lift coefficient
Cd Two-dimensional drag coefficient
Cl,max Cl For maximum lift:drag
CP Power coefficient
CQ Torque coefficient
CT Force (thrust) coefficient
c Blade chord (m)
g Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2
h Tower height (m)
N Number of blades
Q Torque (Nm)
R Blade tip radius (m)
Re Reynolds number
T Turbine thrust (N)
U Wind speed (m/s)
U∞ Wind speed in the far-wake (m/s)
U0 Wind speed at hub height (m/s)
UT Total velocity at blade element (m/s)
α Angle of attack (rad)
αmax Angle of attack for maximum lift:drag (rad)
Г Circulation (m2/s)
XI
ɵp Blade twist angle (rad)
Ø Wind direction (rad)
λ Tip speed ratio
λr Local tip speed ratio
𝜌 Density (kg/m3)
𝜎 Blade element solidity
Ω Blade speed (usually rad/s)
Ø Blade inflow angle (rad)
XII
1. Introduction
Wind energy is a source of renewable power which comes from air current flowing across the
earth's surface. Wind turbines harvest this kinetic energy and convert it into usable power which
can provide electricity. It is a Green Power, the electricity produced from it is said to be "clean"
because its generation produces no pollution or greenhouse gases. As both health and
environmental concerns are on the rise, clean energy sources are a growing demand. Sustainability
of the Wind as a renewable energy resource, it is inexhaustible and requires no "fuel" besides the
wind that blows across the earth. This infinite energy supply is a security that many users view as
a stable investment in our energy economy as well as in our children's' future. Wind Energy is also
Affordable, as it is a cost-competitive source of electricity, largely due to technological
advancements, as well as economies of scale as more of these machines are manufactured and put
online around the world. As well as being affordable, wind power is a locally-produced source of
electricity that enables communities to keep energy dollars in their economy. Job creation
(manufacturing, service, construction, and operation) and tax base increase are other economic
development benefits for communities utilizing wind energy. Comparing Wind Energy to other
sources of energy, renewable and non-renewable, it is found to have its pros and cons, starting
with solar energy as one of the main and widely used sources, we find that both sources are
preferred for resident, with wind recommendation as it does not require sunlight, so energy could
be generated 24 over 7, On the other hand, while Wind Turbines requires to be situated high above
any obstacle, at a site with high wind energy, at least 12 miles per hour, Solar Cells can be located
on the ground at any site, with less number of moving parts, unless it uses a sun tracing system,
which gives it a point for less need to be maintained or a threaten of tear or wear. For the above-
mentioned reasons, it is commonly agreed that Solar is recommended for residents while Wind is
usually recommended for Utility.
1.1. Classification of Small Wind Turbines
We may classify wind based on where its energy is harvested into land wind and offshore wind.
Land wind itself can be further classified into two types of “small wind” or “distributed wind”,
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and “utility-scale” wind. Small wind refers to using wind energy in small scale for homes, farms,
and businesses, for which small wind turbines with powers up to 100 KW are used to provide the
required power. In this setup, the wind turbines are not connected to the grid, and their generated
power is directly consumed by the end user.
Wind turbines that realize the conversion of wind energy to electrical energy can also be
categorized into different types. Wind turbines are in the most general sense categorized into the
two types of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) and Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT).
Despite there are wind turbines that would belong to neither of these two types, due to their very
limited implementation in real applications, we may naturally stick with the two types of HAWT
and VAWT as the main types of wind turbines used in action.
1.1.1. Horizontal Axis Small Wind Turbine
One of the important types of wind turbines is the HAWT (Figure 1.), which is the most widely
used wind turbine out there. These types of wind turbines are probably what you would think of
when you hear “wind turbine.” The design of these turbines follows pretty much the same idea
already implemented in windmills; rotor blades that are connected to a shaft and rotate it as the
wind strikes them, only this time the shaft is connected to a generator that produces the promised
electrical energy. They look something like a large aircraft propeller mounted on top of a mast or
tower.
Figure 1. Small HAWT
Horizontal axis wind turbines are one of the types of wind turbines that require being aligned with
the wind direction. Therefore, they require a wind sensor that detects the direction of wind and
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some yawing mechanism that turns the device in order to be properly aligned against the wind.
The reason for necessity of facing the wind is both a more effective distribution of force on the
rotors, and prevention of structural damage to the turbine due to improper loading on the turbine
structure.
• Up-wind Turbines
These types of wind turbines are the ones most commonly used. Up-wind HAWTs (Figure 2.) face
the wind, which means the wind reaches the rotors before the mast. Therefore, rotors do not suffer
from the wind shade behind the tower, which means a more efficient operation as well as less
susceptibility to wear and tear of the rotors. Nonetheless, the necessity for the yawing mechanism
adds to the weight of the structure.
Figure 2. Upwind HAWT
Another point about up-wind types of wind turbines is that their rotors should not be flexible, so
that they would not bend and collide with the mast when the speed of wind is high. To further
avoid such incidences, the rotor is placed at some distance from the tower. This adds to the
manufacturing difficulties of these types of wind turbines, and the rather inflexibility of the rotor
blades equals requiring heavier material for blade construction.
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• Down-wind Turbines
Down-wind horizontal axis wind turbines (Figure 3.) are the less commonly seen types of wind
turbines. Their design looks pretty much the same as up-wind HAWTs except for the location of
rotor, which is downstream of the tower; the wind strikes the mast before it reaches the blades.
This configuration allows for more flexibility of the rotor blades, and therefore, lighter material
can be used. Hence, this design serves two purposes of lighter structural weight and better
structural dynamics of the tower by taking some of the load off the tower to the blades during their
bending.
Down-wind horizontal axis types of wind turbines theoretically do not require any yawing
mechanism as long as the rotors and the casing are designed in a way the casing would passively
follow the wind direction. The passive yawing of these wind turbines would not be an advantage
for large wind turbines that have earthing cables attached to the casing.
Since the rotor of these types of wind turbines are located behind downstream of the mast, they
suffer from the wind shade. Wind shade not only induces fluctuations in the amount of power
generated, but also results in more fatigue of down-wind types of wind turbines compared to their
up-wind counterparts.
Figure 3. Down-wind HAWT
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It is also worth mentioning that the number of blades varies between one to 5 blades (Figure 4.)
Figure 4. Variation of number of blades in HAWT
1.1.2. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines
Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) (Figure 5.) are one of the types of wind turbines for which
rotors rotate a shaft that is installed vertically. Such way of design allows for less sensitivity
regarding wind direction, making them the perfect choice for places where the wind direction
frequently changes. No matter what direction the wind blows, the blades would still move and
rotate the shaft. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) represent a unique form of power-
generating technology. Historically, they have been relegated to fulfilling a small niche market in
commercially available wind turbines due to their “yaw-less” design. Current VAWT designs lag
behind their Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) counterparts in terms of efficiency, as
measured by their power coefficient. However, new research suggests that these types of wind
turbines may be better suited for wind farm installations than previously thought.
Figure 5. Types of VAWTs
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1.2. The Development of Small Wind Turbines
Small wind turbines (SWTs) are a distinct and separate group of devices developed within the
wind energy sector. According to the IEC 61400-2 standard, SWTs are characterized by a rotor
area of <200 m2 and rated power below 50 kW. Wind power plants in this category are generally
designed for small and individual customers such as households, farms, weather stations, road
signalization, and advertising systems. SWTs offer a promising alternative for many remote
electrical uses where, given a set of site evaluation criteria, the wind resources can be identified as
beneficial, both as stand-alone applications and in combination with other energy conversion
technologies such as photovoltaic, small hydro or diesel engines.
The quantity of SWTs operating worldwide grows every year. In 2012, the total number of such
devices was approximately 800,000 worldwide with the growth of about 10%. The majority of
SWTs (about 70%) are located in China, where the highest number of new installed units in 2012
was also noted. The second biggest market of SWTs is USA, where around 155,000 SWTs are
operating at the time this document is prepared. In Europe, the leader is the United Kingdom:
23,500 units, followed by Germany: 10,000 units, Spain: 7020 units, and Poland: 3200 units.
Figure 6. Annual and cumulative installed small wind turbine capacity worldwide
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Total SWT generation capacity installed in 2012 was equal to around 678 MW (576 MW in 2011).
The majority of world’s capacity (85%) belongs to three countries: China (274 MW), USA (216
MW), and UK (83.7 MW). Unfortunately, developing countries play a minor role in small wind
turbine industry. Electrical capacity growth in 2013 was small, with just 90 MW installed across
Africa, for a cumulative total of 1255 MW. It is exceptionally regrettable considering enormous
wind power potential (best around the coasts and in the eastern highlands of the African continent).
A global forecast concerning SWTs installed capacity in years 2009–2020 is presented in figure 6.
The development and dissemination of SWTs involves great expectations in the field of eco-energy
production. Some opinions suggest that without the dissemination of SWTs, the fulfillment of legal
requirements for energy efficiency and energy production from renewable sources will be
relatively difficult. In particular, in the developing countries, small wind turbine sector can
efficiently contribute to provide electricity to millions of people in rural areas. In order to create a
positive outcome, a big challenge awaits not only the authors of laws supporting investments in
SWTs, but also engineers and scientists who should propose design solutions addressing the real
issues found in the small wind turbine energy sector (aerodynamics: ill-optimized blade often using
trends and observations from large HAWTs, poorly addressed issue of local wind resources
abundance; structural: different nature of loads experienced by SWTs, little care given to weight
optimization; conversion/control: seldom usage of active regulation methods, such as rpm control
to expand operational margin of the SWTs, little attention given to match turbine’s mechanical
power capability with that of a generator; economic: lack of cost optimized SWTs).
The wide prevalence of SWTs and the emergence of the so-called “prosumers” within the electrical
grid (the Smart Grid concept) are believed to be one of the biggest factors changing the way that
the power companies will deliver service over the next decade. This qualitative change may result
in a reduction of transmission losses and make the electricity infrastructure more flexible and
secure. The specialists agree that work on the design and architecture of the future grid is as
important as the work on the technologies and products that would realize a smart grid vision, for
example, SWTs being a part of electricity network. The above motivates to devote more effort to
the field of modern SWTs development.
In the small wind turbine market, the return on investment (ROI) is one of the most important
factors determining the turbine’s validity. Having the above in mind, it has become a challenge for
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many designers and research facilities to develop a small wind turbine design which would be
competitive with other renewable energy sources. For this to be possible, it would have to
incorporate a number of factors: high efficiency, sufficient longevity, low installation, and
maintenance costs. Having above in mind, it has been concluded that SWTs should be
characterized by the lowest possible price, while maintaining relatively high efficiency as well as
satisfying reliability and maintenance parameters.
1.3. Challenges of using wind energy
Figure 7. Total failure of wind turbine due to extreme wind conditions
Extreme winds (Figure 7.) challenge turbine designers. Engineers have to create systems that will
start generating energy at relatively low wind speeds and also can survive extremely strong winds.
A strong gale contains 1,000 times more power than a light breeze, and engineers don't yet know
how to design electrical generators or turbine blades that can efficiently capture such a broad range
of input wind power. To be safe, turbines may be overbuilt to withstand winds they will not
experience at many sites, driving up costs and material use. One potential solution is the use of
long-term weather forecasting and AI to better predict the wind resources at individual locations
and inform designs for turbines that suit those sites.
Climate change will bring more incidents of unusual weather, including potential changes in wind
patterns. Wind farms may help mitigate some of the harmful effects of climate change. For
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example, turbines in cold regions are routinely winterized to keep working in icy weather when
other systems may fail, and studies have demonstrated that offshore wind farms may reduce the
damage caused by hurricanes. A more challenging situation will arise if wind patterns shift
significantly. The financing for wind energy projects depends critically on the ability to predict
wind resources at specific sites decades into the future. One potential way to mitigate unexpected,
climate-change-related losses or gains of wind is to flexibly add and remove groups of smaller
turbines, such as vertical-axis wind turbines, within existing large-scale wind farms.
Wind farms do have environmental impacts. The most well-known is harm to wildlife,
including birds and bats. Studies are informing wind farm siting and management practices that
minimize harm to wildlife, and Audubon, a bird conservation group, now supports well-planned
wind farms. The construction and maintenance of wind farms involves energy-intensive activities
such as trucking, road-building, concrete production, and steel construction. Also, while towers
can be recycled, turbine blades are not easily recyclable. In hopes of developing low-to-zero-waste
wind farms, scientists aim to design new reuse and disposal strategies, and recyclable
plastic turbine blades. Studies show that wind energy's carbon footprint is quickly offset by the
electricity it generates and is among the lowest of any energy source.
1.4. The Scope of This Work
The purpose of our project is to design and manufacture a 1kw small wind turbine by understanding
the basic science of wind energy and applying it to find the optimum design with the highest
possible efficiency using computer software MATLAB and analyze the performance of the turbine
taking into consideration its power outcome and blade geometry and then test our design using
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to simulate the working environment for the project
and make sure that the wind turbine is capable of generating the desired amount of power. For the
stress analysis we first defined the wind loads and then compared the mechanical properties of the
material to the applied loads to avoid any possible failures. Finally, we are currently working on
the process of manufacturing by preparing the method and the material which in our case will be
3D-Printing technology.
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2. Aerodynamic Theory of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines
2.1. Introduction
The aerodynamic theories presented in this chapter are based on (Wood, 2011). In This section
the control volume (CV) method is introduced informally to develop the basic equations for
conservation of mass, momentum, angular momentum, and energy.
2.1.1. Assumptions:
• Steady incompressible uniform flow upstream and at the disc.
• No flow rotation (swirl) produced by the disc.
• The flow passing through the disc is contained by the bounding streamline.
2.2. Actuator disk theory
Figure 8. Control volume for wind turbine of radius R in steady uniform flow
Figure 8 shows the CV to analysis wind turbine behavior. The CV is a cylinder whose radius,
RCV, is very much larger than the blade tip radius, R. The upstream face of the CV (at the left-
hand side) is located far enough upstream that the velocity entering the CV is the wind speed U0
and the pressure is ambient or zero-gauge pressure. In other words, the presence of the blades
does not influence the flow entering the upstream face of the CV. Because the turbine extracts
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energy from the wind, the velocity in the far-wake, U∞, is always less than U0. The radius of the
far-wake is R∞. Thus, the wake expands as shown by the ‘‘bounding streamline’’ which is part
of the ‘‘bounding streamtube’’, the boundary between the flow passing through the blades and
the ‘‘external’’ flow. This boundary is sharp and can support a discontinuity in the velocity and
pressure across the bounding streamline. the bounding streamtube behind the rotor is comprised
of helical vortices trailed from the blade tips in much the same way that nearly straight tip
vortices are shed at the tips of aircraft wings. The key difference between helical and straight
vortices is that the former can induce an axial flow whereas the latter cannot. Trailing vortices
are a consequence of Kelvin’s theorem that circulation must be continuous in an otherwise
inviscid fluid, so the ‘‘bound’’ vorticity of turbine blades and aircraft wings must be shed into
their wakes. For blades, this shedding occurs at the hubs as well as the tips but the hub vorticity
does not appear to have a leading-order effect on the flow. The figure shows that there is
expansion of the flow before the blades; in fact, about one-half the expansion, as measured by
the cross-sectional area of the bounding streamtube, occurs in the upstream flow. This is one
reason why the turbine can never convert all the kinetic energy that would pass through the blade
area in the absence of the blades.
It is further assumed that U∞ and the pressure in the far-wake are uniform, and that the latter is
equal to atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, the presence of any swirl, or circumferential velocity
generated by the blades, is ignored, even though the torque on the blades must result in a change
in the angular momentum of the air. Briefly, for normal wind turbine values of the tip speed ratio,
k, the circumferential velocity is so low that it can be neglected when considering conservation of
momentum and energy, and, in any case, it does not enter the conservation of mass equation. The
three conservation equations for an incompressible airflow (constant density) are now applied by
assuming that the flow is uniform and steady, which means that there is no accumulation of mass,
momentum, angular momentum, and energy within the CV.
2.2.1. Conservation of mass
When divided through by the constant density ρ, the vector form of the conservation of mass
equation for a steady flow is
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∫ 𝑈. 𝑑𝐴 = 0 (1)
where dA indicates a vector element of the area on the CV faces. dA is, by convention, always
pointing outwards (at right angles) from the CV. This direction is called the ‘‘outward facing
normal’’. It is important to remember this convention and its critical use in determining the signs
of the contributions from each face. Note also that, as with all conservation equations for steady
flow, the only terms in (1) come from the CV faces. This is because no conserved quantity can
accumulate within the CV for a steady flow. In words: at every instant, the amount of air entering
the CV per unit time must be balanced by the same amount leaving from a different part of the
CV, again per unit time. (The molecules comprising these amounts are, of course, different. If you
have trouble with this concept, think of the water entering a hose from the tap, with the same
amount leaving the end of the hose. The molecules leaving at any time are not those entering at
the same time.
For the above CV, air enters from the upstream face, causing a negative contribution to (1), because
dA is in the direction opposite to U, and leaves from the downstream face in the far-wake, giving
a positive contribution, as then 𝑑𝐴 is in the same direction as U. There is also a positive
contribution from the cylindrical face at radius Rcv.
At the upstream face, the magnitude of the velocity is constant and equal to Uο. To reiterate: this
velocity is in the opposite direction to the outward pointing normal, so that 𝑈𝑑𝐴 will be negative
and have the value of −𝑈𝜊𝑑𝐴 where dA is now a scalar element of area. Thus, the contribution to
2
the integral in (1) is −𝑈0 𝜋𝑅𝑐𝑣 . (Note that the result of a vector dot product is a scalar.) Similarly,
the contribution from the face in the far-wake is (Note that the result of a vector dot product is a
2 2) 2
scalar.) Similarly, the contribution from the face in the far-wake is 𝑈0 𝜋(𝑅𝑐𝑣 − 𝑅∞ + 𝑈∞ 𝜋𝑅∞ .
All these terms have the units of velocity 9 area or m3 /s, and are usually termed ‘‘volume flow
rates’’ because they give the volume of air that passes the particular face every second. Usually,
volume flow rates are given the symbol Q, but this symbol is used in this text for torque. A Q with
a subscript will represent a volume flow rate for this and the next sections only. If QR represents
the flow rate out of the cylindrical face of the CV, then Eq. )1(gives:
−𝑈0 𝜋𝑅 2 + 𝑈0 𝜋(𝑅𝑐𝑣
2 2)
− 𝑅∞ 2
+ 𝑈∞ 𝜋𝑅∞ + 𝑄𝑅 = 0
Page | 12
2
𝑄𝑅 = (𝑈0 − 𝑈∞ )𝜋𝑅∞ (2)
QR must be due to a radial velocity. The average value of that velocity, VR, multiplied by the
flow area, will equal QR. If the length (in the wind direction) of the CV is X, say, the flow area is
2𝜌𝑅𝐶𝑉 𝑋, so VR can be made arbitrarily small by increasing RCV. In fact, the following analysis
requires RCV >> R, in order to make VR negligible and QR independent of RCV.
Another important use of the conservation of mass equation is to fix the volume flow rate within
the bounding streamtube. By an appropriate change to the CV shown in the figure, it is easy to
deduce that:
2
𝑄0 = 𝑈0 𝜋𝑅∞ = 𝑄1 = 𝑈1 𝜋𝑅12 = 𝑄∞ = 𝑈∞ 𝜋𝑅∞
2 (3)
so that the volume flow rate within the bounding streamtube at any axial location in the flow, is
constant.
2.2.2. Conservation of Momentum
Newton’s law in CV form determines the force acting on the air, which is the negative of the force
(thrust) acting on the blades, T, in vector form. Thus, the equation for T is:
𝑇 = −𝜌 ∫ 𝑈𝑈. 𝑑𝐴 (4)
Focusing only on T which is the force in the direction of the wind, it is easier to revert to the scalar
component of (4) in the direction of the wind. The pressure is constant and equal at all CV faces,
so it does not contribute to the momentum equation, as has already been assumed in writing (4).
Furthermore, the velocities at the CV faces are uniform (even if the velocity at the downstream
face is discontinuous at R?) so the application of Eq.4 proceeds in the same manner as for Eq.1.
The result is:
2 2 2 2
𝑇 = 𝜌𝑈0 𝑈0 𝜋𝑅𝑐𝑣 − 𝜌𝑈0 𝑈0 𝜋(𝑅𝑐𝑣 − 𝑅∞ ) − 𝜌𝑈∞ 𝑈∞ 𝜋𝑅∞ − 𝜌𝑈0 𝑄𝑅 (5.a)
and is, therefore, positive in the direction of the wind. The most interesting term in this equation
is the last, representing the removal of momentum (equal to U0 per unit mass) by the volume flow
Page | 13
rate (QR) out of the cylindrical face of the CV. Using Eq.2 this term can be removed and (5.a)
rewritten as:
2 (𝑈
𝑇 = 𝜌𝑈∞ 𝜋𝑅∞ 0 − 𝑈∞ ) = 𝜌𝑄∞ (𝑈0 − 𝑈∞ ) (5.b)
Another equation can be derived for T by considering the flow through the ‘‘disk’’ representing
the rotating blades. Imagine that the blades can be replaced by a thin, uniform circular disk across
which the velocity is continuous but the pressure is discontinuous, then T can result only from the
pressure difference P1 - P2. P1 acts in the wind direction on the upwind side of the disk and P2
acts upwind on the downwind side. (Note that the symbol P is used both for power when there is
no subscript and pressure when it is subscripted.) Idealizing the blades as an infinitely thin porous
disk—often called an ‘‘actuator disk’’—is a common one in the analysis of fluid machines. It can
be thought of as a model for a rotor with an infinite number of infinitely thin blades. Thus:
𝑇 = (𝑃1 − 𝑃2 )𝜋𝑅2 (6)
2.2.3. Conservation of Angular Momentum
The torque on the blades is equal and opposite to that acting on the air. The equation for the vector
torque Q is:
𝑄 = −𝜌 ∫ 𝑟 × 𝑈𝑈 . 𝑑𝐴 (7)
If there is no swirl (or angular momentum) in the upstream flow, the only contribution to (7) comes
from the CV face in the far-wake. Equation 7 can thus be turned into a scalar equation for the
contribution to Q, the torque acting around the axis of rotation, which is normally the only torque
of interest. To do this recognize that the magnitude of 𝑟 × 𝑈 is 𝑟𝑊∞ , where W∞ is the swirl
velocity (about the turbine axis) in the far-wake. Furthermore, 𝑟𝑊∞ is related to a very important
quantity called the circulation around each blade Г, by:
𝑁 Г = 2 𝜋 𝑟∞ 𝑊∞ (8)
Page | 14
where N is the number of blades. Г is nearly constant in the far-wake. Substitution into (7) leads
to the following equation for CQ, the torque coefficient:
𝑄 𝑁Г𝑈1
𝐶𝑄 = = (9)
1 2 3 𝜋
𝜌𝑈 𝜋𝑅
2 0
The torque is related to the power by:
𝑃 = 𝑄𝛺 (10)
and is imparted to the blades by the aerodynamic forces (principally lift and drag) generated by
the flow through the blades.
2.2.4. Conservation of Energy
Finally, consider the energy equation for the CV used in the application of the mass and momentum
conservation equations. To start, recall the assumption that the pressure in the far-wake is
atmospheric (zero-gauge pressure) so the pressure on all faces of the CV is atmospheric. This
means no network is done by the pressure forces in moving fluid into or out of the CV, so the only
form of energy that to be considered (in the ideal case) is kinetic energy. The conservation equation
gives the power output as:
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 0.5𝜌 ∫ 𝑈. 𝑈𝑈. 𝑑𝐴 (11)
and it should be straightforward (after experience with the mass and momentum balances) to show
that:
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 0.5𝜌𝑄∞ (𝑈02 − 𝑈∞

2
) (12)
An alternative form of (12) can be found by applying Bernoulli’s equation from the upstream
face of the CV to a position just upwind of the blades to give
1
𝑃1 = 𝜌(𝑈02 − 𝑈12 )
2
Page | 15
Similarly, from just downwind of the blades to the far-wake, and noting that the velocity exiting
the disk is the same as that entering
1 2
𝑃2 = 𝜌(𝑈∞ − 𝑈12 )
2
It is important to understand that Bernoulli’s equation cannot be applied across the disk as the
energy extracted from the air alters the Bernoulli constant on each streamline. Using these two
equations with (12) gives:
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 𝑄1 ( 𝑃1 − 𝑃2 ) = 𝑈1 𝜋𝑅2 ( 𝑃1 − 𝑃2 ) (13)
Equations 6 and 13 can be combined to give:
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 = 𝑇𝑈1 (14)
showing that the power is the product of the force on the disk and the air velocity through it. The
correspondence between (14) and the relation between power, force, and velocity in engineering
dynamics is obvious but it must be emphasized that (14) applies only to an ideal flow.
Combining (14) with (5.a, b) and (12) gives the very interesting result that:
𝑈1 = (𝑈0 + 𝑈∞ )/2 (15)
which is, because of the restriction on (14), applicable only to ideal flow. Equation 15 shows that
half the expansion of the flow in terms of the velocity changes occurs before the blades and half
in the wake, behind the blades.
2.2.5. Turbine Operating Parameters and Optimum Performance
The analysis of the previous section leads to equations for the turbine operating parameters which
is the most important is the power coefficient, CP. From (3), (5.a, b), (14) and (15):
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟4𝑈12 (𝑈0 − 𝑈1 )
𝐶𝑝 = = = 4𝑎(1 − 𝑎)2 (16)
1 3 2 𝑈 3
𝜌𝑈 𝜋𝑅 0
2 0
Page | 16
where a is the ‘‘axial induction factor’’ defined by:
𝑈1
𝑎 =1− (17)
𝑈0
so that the larger the value of 𝑎 the more deceleration occurs as the air goes through the blades.
𝑑𝐶𝑝
Maximum performance will occur when = 0. From (16), this occurs when a = 1/3, and it
𝑑𝑎
immediately follows that:
Cp = 16/27 = 0.593, when a=1/3, U1/U0 =2/3, and U∞/U0 =1/3
for optimum performance. This is the Betz–Joukowsky limit. Its derivation shows that a turbine
can never capture all the kinetic energy that would flow past the blade disk in the absence of the
blades. All it can possibly do, according to (17), is to capture two-thirds of that wind (in terms of
U1/U0), and convert eight-ninths of that into output power because 1 - (U∞ /U0) 2 = 8/9. To do so,
there must be significant expansion of the flow; the cross-sectional area of the far-wake when a =
1/3 is twice the blade disk area and three times the area of the wind captured by the blades. This
expansion of an optimal wind turbine wake is large compared to the contraction that occurs in the
wake of an efficient propeller, which is typically only 10%.
In a form similar to (16), the thrust coefficient, CT, can be derived from Eqns. 5.a, b and 11, giving:
𝑇
𝐶𝑇 = = 4𝑎(1 − 𝑎) (18)
1 2 2
𝜌𝑈 𝜋𝑅
2 0
so that at optimum performance, CT = 8/9, and has an upper limit of unity when a = 1/2 according
to (19). In practice, it seems that CT is about 0.9 at maximum performance, but there are a number
of measurements of CT exceeding unity as a increases above 1/3 as shown in Fig. 9
The derivation of the Betz–Joukowsky limit depends on major simplifications and assumptions
about the air flow, principally in terms of steadiness, uniformity, and the neglect of viscosity,
which cannot be strictly valid in practice. So, the next section considers the relationship between
the flow over the blades, the forces acting on them, and a modification of the present analysis that
is accurate at least up until the optimum performance point.
Page | 17
Figure 9. Variation of CP and CT with axial induction factor a
2.3. Blade Element/Momentum Theory
The flow is divided through the blades into large numbers of concentric annular streamtubes to
account for the radial variations of the velocity, chord and blade Twist.
It is however assumed that:

• The flow in each streamtube is independent of that in other streamtubes
• Each blade element behaves as an airfoil
➢ Inaccurate representation! An airfoil is a 2-D body in an infinite flow that is uniform away
from the region influenced by the body. Thus, we can say that: The original theory ignores
the flow periodicity resulting from the turbine having a finite number of blades.
• Glauert assumed that each radial blade element could be analyzed independently, as if the rotor
has an infinite number of blades.
• The lift and drag forces acting on each blade element are the same as those on an airfoil of the
same section, angle of attack and effective (relative) velocity. Therefore, further correction is
necessary to compensate for such approximations; such as: Prandtl Correction Factor.
➢ This can never happen in a wind turbine with finite number of blades, because: – The blades
are always separated by a finite distance in the θ-direction – Of the blade solidity: σ = N c
/ 2π r and stall delay.
2.3.1. The Conservation Equations for Annular Streamtubes
These equations can be obtained by applying the vector equations into the annular streamtube at
radius r, and radial extent 𝑑𝑟, as shown in Fig. 10
Page | 18
The blade tip radius is R. The streamtube thickness is dr0 upstream, 𝑑𝑟 at the blades, and 𝑑𝑟∞ in
the far-wake. Note that the streamtube is annular and it is assumed that dr r typically. Any velocity
in the radial direction is ignored, but the circumferential or swirl velocity will be included in the
analysis.
The conservation equations for mass, momentum, angular momentum, and energy are now
considered in turn.
Figure 10. Annular streamtube intersecting a blade element
i. Conservation of Mass
Dividing the conservation of mass Eq. 1 by the density and applying it to the streamtube whose
flow area is approximately 2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟, gives:
𝑈0 2𝜋𝑟0 𝑑𝑟0 = 𝑈1 2𝜋𝑟𝑑𝑟 = 𝑈∞ 2𝜋𝑟∞ 𝑑𝑟∞
or, in a form analogous to
𝑈0 𝑟0 𝑑𝑟0 = 𝑈1 𝑟𝑑𝑟 = 𝑈∞ 𝑟∞ 𝑑𝑟∞ (19)
Page | 19
ii. Conservation of Momentum
Because the force of main interest is in the direction of the wind and the turbine’s axis, it is easier
to revert to scalars. Using Eq.19, the contribution to the axial thrust, T, from the streamtube is:
𝑑𝑇=𝜌𝑈0𝑈02𝜋𝑟0𝑑𝑟0−𝜌𝑈∞𝑈∞2𝜋𝑟∞𝑑𝑟∞=2𝜋𝜌𝑈1𝑟𝑈0−𝑈∞𝑑𝑟
Note that this is the total force acting on the N blade elements that intersect this streamtube. Using
Eqs.15 and 17, the equation can be rewritten as:
𝑑𝑇 = 4𝜋𝜌𝑈02 𝑟𝑎(1 − 𝑎)𝑑𝑟 (20)
the larger the value of a the greater the reduction in speed as the wind passes through the blades.
iii. Conservation of angular Momentum
In vector form, 𝑑𝑄, the torque acting on the blade elements within the streamtube can be obtained
from Eq.7. From this can be deduced the scalar equation for the contribution to Q, the torque acting
about the axis of rotation:
𝑑𝑄 = 𝜌𝑟∞ 𝑊∞ 𝑈∞ 2𝜋𝑟∞ 𝑑𝑟∞ (19)
assuming that there is no swirl upstream of the blades. Downstream of the blades, the angular
momentum of the streamtube is conserved so 𝑟𝑊2 = 𝑟∞ 𝑊∞ .
Using this relationship and conservation of mass:
𝑑𝑄 = 2𝜋𝜌𝑈0 (1 − 𝑎)𝑊2 𝑟 2 𝑑𝑟 = 4πρ𝑈0 (1 − 𝑎)𝑎′ 𝛺𝑟 3 𝑑𝑟 (202)
where 𝑊2 = 2𝑎’ 𝛺𝑟 defines (twice) the rotational interference factor. The geometric significance
of 𝑎 and 𝑎′ . 𝑎′ is the rotational interference factor. Note that the average W seen by the blades is:
𝑊0 + 𝑊2 𝑊2
𝑊= = = 𝑎′ Ωr (23)
2 2
Page | 20
2.3.2. The Forces Acting on a Blade Element
The analysis of the previous two sections gives the velocity components for each blade element at
radius r. The situation is summarized in Fig.8. The velocity in the wind direction is U1 and the
circumferential velocity is the sum of Ω𝑟 and W as defined in Eq.23. Adding these velocities
vectorially, and ignoring any radial velocity, gives the non-dimensional velocity UT:
𝑈𝑇2 = (1 − 𝑎)2 + [(1 + 𝑎′ )𝜆𝑟 ]2 (24.a)
where 𝜆𝑟 is the local speed ratio (of the blade element)
𝑟Ω
𝜆𝑟 = = 𝜆𝑟/𝑅 (24.b)
𝑈0
UT is usually called the ‘‘total’’ or ‘‘effective’’ velocity as seen by the blade element. α is the angle
of attack, which is sometimes called the angle of incidence. This is one of the three important
angles defined in Fig.8: 𝜃𝑃 the twist, is the angle between the plane of rotation of the blade and the
element’s chord line. Sometimes 𝜃𝑃 is termed the pitch angle, but, in this text, ‘‘pitch’’ will signify
a constant, global change in 𝜃𝑃 caused by alteration of the blade’s attachment at the hub. Finally,
Ø is the inflow angle between UT and the plane of rotation. From the geometry.
𝜃𝑃 + α = Ø (25)
Note very carefully that fig.11 does NOT indicate the location of the effective velocity relative to
the blade element or the line of action of the forces. In aeronautical applications this line of action
can be very important, for example in determining the longitudinal stability of an aircraft. For wind
turbines, however, its location has much less significance.
Figure 12 shows the resulting lift and drag. By definition, the lift acts at right angles to UT and the
drag acts in the direction of UT because wind turbines operate at high values of λ, typically in the
range of 7–10, 𝜴r at the tip is about ten times greater than U1. At the hub, Ω𝑟 is nearly zero, so that
𝜃𝑃 must vary significantly with radius to maintain the angle of attack, α, at reasonable values to
avoid flow separation. The basic assumption is that the lift and drag acting on the blade element
are the same as those on an airfoil of the same section, angle of attack, and effective velocity. From
the definitions of the lift and drag coefficients, CL and Cd respectively:
Page | 21
𝐿𝐼𝐹𝑇 = 0.5𝜌𝑈𝑇2 𝐶𝐿 𝑐 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐷𝑅𝐴𝐺 = 0.5𝜌𝑈𝑇2 𝐶𝑑 𝑐 (26)
Figure 11. Velocities for blade element at radius r
Figure 12. Lift and drag on a blade element
where c is the chord; It is next necessary to resolve the lift and drag into the circumferential and
axial components of interest to the wind turbine designer. For an N-bladed turbine, the total thrust
on N blade elements is:
1 1
𝑑𝑇 = 𝜌𝑈𝑇2 𝑐𝑁(𝐶𝐿 𝑐𝑜𝑠 Ø + 𝐶𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑛 Ø)𝑑𝑟 = 𝜌𝑈𝑇2 𝑐𝑁𝐶𝑎 𝑑𝑟 (27)
2 2
where 𝐶𝑎 = 𝐶𝐿 cos ∅ + 𝐶𝑑 sin ∅ and the torque due to the circumferential force is:
Page | 22
1 1
𝑑𝑄 = 𝜌𝑈𝑇2 𝑐𝑁(𝐶𝐿 𝑠𝑖𝑛 ∅ − 𝐶𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠 ∅)𝑟𝑑𝑟 = 𝜌𝑈𝑇2 𝑐𝑁𝐶𝑎′ 𝑟𝑑𝑟 (28)
2 2
Where 𝐶𝑎′ = 𝐶𝐿 sin ∅ − 𝐶𝑑 cos ∅
2.3.3. Combining the Equations for the Streamtube and the Blade Element
Equations 20 and 22 for the wake must be solved with (27) and (28) for the blade element. One
way of doing this is through the following relationship for 𝜴:
𝑈1 1−𝑎
tan Ø = = (29)
𝛺𝑟(1+𝑎′ ) 𝜆𝑟 (1+𝑎′ )
which follows from the velocity triangle Fig.8. 𝜆𝑟 is the local speed ratio from Eq.24 b which
obviously varies from zero at the axis of rotation to λ at the blade tip. If values are assumed for a
and a’, Ø can be found from (29) and then CL and Cd determined and so on. This is an iterative
process because (20) and (10) can be combined to give an, the new estimate for a for the nth
iteration, as:
𝑈𝑇2 𝐶𝑎 𝜎
𝑎𝑛 (1 − 𝑎𝑛 ) = ƒ𝑎 = (30)
4𝑈02
where the quantities on the right-hand side of (30) are those from the (n - 1) iteration. In Eq.30, 𝜎
is defined as local solidity:
𝑁𝑐
𝜎= (31)
2𝜋𝑟
Page | 23
3. Optimal Blade Design
3.1. Introduction
The purpose of wind turbines is to extract as much energy from the wind as possible and each
component of the turbine has to be optimized for that goal. Optimal blade design is influenced by
the mode of operation of the turbine, that is, fixed rotational speed or variable rotational speed and,
ideally, the wind distribution at the intended site. In practice engineering compromises are made
but it is still necessary to know what would be the best design. Optimizing a blade design means
maximizing the power output and so a suitable solution to blade element – momentum Equations
is necessary.
3.2. Variable Speed Operation
Based on (Tony Burton, Nick Jenkins, David Sharpe and Ervin Bossanyi, 2011), a turbine
operating at variable speed can maintain the constant tip speed ratio required for the maximum
power coefficient to be developed regardless of wind speed. To develop the maximum possible
power coefficient requires a suitable blade geometry with optimized operating conditions
represented in the flow induction factors:
𝑎(1−𝑎) (32)
𝑎 = 1/3 and 𝑎′ =
𝜆2𝑟
To determine the blade geometry, that is, how should the chord size vary along the blade and
what pitch angle distribution is necessary, it can be derived from the theories and equations of
chapter 2 that the general equations for determining chord C and twist 𝛽 distribution along the
blade are:
𝑁𝑐 4𝜆2𝑟 𝑎′
𝜆𝐶 = (33.a)
2𝜋𝑅 𝐿 √(1 − 𝑎)2 + (𝜆𝑟 (1 + 𝑎′ ))2
1−𝑎
𝜑 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ( ) (33.b)
𝜆𝑟 (1 + 𝑎′ )
Page | 24
Introducing the optimum operation conditions of equation (32):
16𝜋
𝑐𝐶𝐿 =
4 2 2 (34.a)
9𝑁𝜆√ + (𝜆𝑟 + )
9 9𝜆𝑟
2
tan 𝜑 = 𝛽 = 𝜑 − 𝛼𝑜𝑝𝑡
2 (34.b)
3𝜆𝑟 +
𝜆𝑟
If, for a given design, Cl is held constant then figure 13 shows the blade plan-form for increasing
tip speed ratio. A high design tip speed ratio would require a long, slender blade (high aspect
ratio) whilst a low design tip speed ratio would need a short, fat blade.
Figure 13. Variation of blade geometry parameter with local speed ratio
Figure 14. Variation of inflow angle with local speed ratio
Page | 25
Close to the blade root the inflow angle is large which could cause the blade to stall in that
region. If the lift coefficient is to be held constant such that drag is minimised everywhere then
the angle of attack α also needs to be uniform at the appropriate value. For a prescribed angle of
attack, the design pitch angle β of the blade must vary according to the variation of the inflow
angle with speed ratio, as shown in figure 14.
3.3. Airfoil Selection
Selecting an optimized shape of SG-6043 airfoil developed specifically for small scale wind
turbine blades that operate at relatively low Reynold’s numbers (around 60,000) best suited our
turbine scale and operating conditions. The optimization data for the 4 scenarios A, B, C, and D
are found in the following table and figures. Finally, it was recommended by the authors to select
scenario C. (K S Abdelwahed and A I Abd El-Rahman, 2020)
Table 1. Aerodynamics performance of the optimum profiles at Re=59,315
Figure 15. The variation of L/D with angle of attack at Re=59,315 for the four scenarios
Selected airfoil data can be found in APPENDIX A.

Page | 26
3.4. Design Parameters and Procedures
Now we need to determine the input parameters of the last two equations in order to find the
optimum distribution of chord and twist along the blade. These parameters are:
• Parameters of the selected airfoil at a specific Reynold’s number: maximum L/D and
optimum angle of attack corresponding to this value at selected Reynold’s number
• Other Design Parameters: Number of blades, blade tip radius, rated wind speed and
optimum tip speed ratio
3.4.1. Design Parameters

• 𝐶𝐿 = 1.3215 & 𝛼𝑜𝑝𝑡 = 5.5 @ Re = 60,000
• Number of blades = 3: To ensure reaching high Cp values at relatively low tip speed ratio
• Rated wind speed = 4 m/s: Upon wind measurements in installation site
• Tip radius = 1.4 m: Due to stresses limitations on generator shaft and bearings
• Tip speed ratio will be determined later in this chapter
3.4.2. Design Procedure
We created a MATLAB code to calculate chord and twist distribution along the blade for any input
design parameters. The 1.4-meter-long blade is divided into 15 elements all of which using the
same airfoil, first element started at 0.22 m from the rotor center, and the last one is at 1.38m.
The chord-twist angle distribution MATLAB code can be found in APPENDIX B.
3.5. Final Design and Analysis Results
After obtaining multiple distributions of chord and twist angle at different tip speed ratios, we
performed analysis and blade element calculations on each distribution. Comparing the power
coefficient that would result from each design shown in figure 16, we now can determine the
optimum tip speed ratio equals 5; resulting in Cp = 0.495.
The selected distribution is shown in the following table 2 and figure 17.
Page | 27
Figure 16. Cp vs optimum TSR for multiple designs
Table 2. Optimum chord-twist angle distribution @ TSR = 5

Radius (m) Chord (m) Twist Angle (deg)
0.2200 0.3132 26.4602
0.3030 0.2721 21.8752
0.3860 0.2351 17.9109
0.4690 0.2047 14.7439
0.5520 0.1803 12.2382
0.6350 0.1605 10.2372
0.7180 0.1443 8.6162
0.8010 0.1309 7.2829
0.8840 0.1197 6.1707
0.9670 0.1102 5.2307
1.0500 0.102 4.4269
1.1330 0.0949 3.7326
1.2160 0.0888 3.1272
1.2990 0.0833 2.595
1.3820 0.0785 2.1237
Page | 28
Figure 17. Optimum chord-twist angle distribution @ TSR = 5
Now that we have the optimum distribution at TSR=5, we will go through the blade element
analysis process to predict the performance of the rotor. The analysis is done by methods of chapter
5 of (Wood, 2011). The MATLAB code for analysis can be found in APPENDIX B.
First, we analyze the variation of power coefficient Cp and tip speed ratio with a range of wind
speeds including rated wind speed of 4 m/s, as shown in the following graph figure 18. It is seen
that Cp starts to rise when increasing the wind speed till it reaches the value of 0.495 at the rated
wind speed of 4 m/s, and then it continues rising to reach its maximum value of 0.501 at wind
speeds higher than the rated value. Meanwhile rotor rpm increases with wind speed to keep tip
speed ratio constant at 5 because of variable speed operation. It is observed that just after wind
speed reaches 11.7 m/s which will correspond to the generator reaching rated rpm of 400, TSR
starts to drop significantly as the rotor cannot rotate faster anymore, resulting in a drop in power
coefficient due to operating in off-designed conditions of wind speed and TSR
Page | 29
Figure 18. Cp, TSR vs wind speed
Analysis of velocity, crculation, torque, and thrust with each blade element along the blade are
shown in the following figures.
Having shown the reasonable accuracy of the blade element calculations for the rotor properties,
it is necessary to consider the radial dependence. At the maximum efficiency point, TSR=5, a and
hence U1 is roughly constant with a value not much greater than the Betz–Joukowsky value of
2/3, as shown in figure 19. Note that the figure shows U1 = 1 - a, not the value of the wind speed
at the blades.
Figure 20 shows circulation uniform along the blade at the optimum value of TSR. The decrease
in circulation near the tips is due to the tip loss correction.
Page | 30
Figure 19. Predicted velocity through the rotor
Figure 20. Predicted circulation along the blade
Page | 31
Figure 21. Predicted torque along the blade
Figure 22. Predicted thrust along the blade
Page | 32
Figures 21 and 22 show that most of the torque and thrust are produced near the tip, simply because
of the rapidly increasing contribution of rotational speed to relative speed Ut. It follows that the
blade design near the hub is not critical for power extraction, so that modifications to accommodate
the attachment to the hub and structural considerations, such as increasing the thickness of the
blade to withstand the centrifugal loads, can be made without compromising power performance.
Last but not least, reviewing analysis of power production, cut-in, and cut-out speeds.
To determine the cut-in speed at which the rotor will overcome the generator resistive torque of
0.4 N.m, it is necessary to review the torque behavior with increasing wind speed. As shown in
figure 23, the value of torque exceeds the resistive torque value at wind speed =1.2 m/s. So, this
value is taken as the cut-in wind speed.
Cut-out speed is considered the speed at which Cp starts to drop due to off-designed operation,
after reaching the maximum rotational speed of 400 rpm. This value equals 11.7 m/s as shown in
figure 18.
Figure 23. Torque vs wind speed curve showing cut-in speed
Page | 33
Figure 24. Rotor output power vs wind speed
After determining cut-in and cut-out speed, it is now possible to plot the power-wind speed curve
shown in figure 24. Note that this power is the brake power that is produced by the turbine rotor,
not the net electric power that comes out of the generator. Note also that power output at rated
wind speed is equal to 117 Watts.
Page | 34
4. CFD Analysis
4.1. Introduction
The purpose of CFD analysis is to validate our design performance using numerical methods to
simulate the performance of the rotor in wind conditions that were used in the design process.
The goal is to get results close to blade element analysis ones, having Cp=0.495 at wind speed=4
m/s and TSR=5.
4.2. Geometry and Domain Meshing
After getting chord twist distribution form design code which is mentioned in chapter 3. It was
used to draw the rotor blades using SOLIDWORKS software. Now, this is the geometry that will
be used in the CFD study on ANSYS CFX software.
Figure 25. Modeling the rotor on SOLIDWORKS
Last step of geometry creation is to determine dimensions of ambient domain and rotating domain
inside it. The size of each of them compared to the geometry size was determined upon the study
of (Arafat Ahmed Bhuiyan, A K M Sadrul Islam, Abdullah Ibne Alam, 2011) (figure 26). The
rotating domain was created as cylinder having a diameter of 1.1 times rotor diameter, with
thickness of 0.4 times rotor diameter. Ambient domain is also a cylinder with diameter and
thickness of 8 times rotor diameter.
Page | 35
Figure 26. Dimensions of ambient and rotating domains
Domain meshing is considered the main step towards an accurate solution. The more we reduce
the size of each element, the more accurate results can be a large number of nodes and elements
so time of solution will be increase so We determined the size of the elements based on the mesh
independence test.
Different methods of meshing are used in order to reduce the size of elements at certain points
where we need the results to be accurate such as edge sizing, face sizing and inflation layers. Note
that we excluded the hub section from the fine mesh methods mentioned above because it’s not
our main concern to study and to reduce the number of nodes to save some solving time.
The inflation first layer height should be small enough to produce Y plus value near 1 to capture
the boundary layer properly and so calculate the shear on the rotor surface accurately as show in
fig. 27 & 28.
Page | 36
Figure 27. Inflation layers demonstration
Figure 28. Hub excluded from fine meshing
Page | 37
After the mesh independence test, we check the mesh metric to make sure that the mesh metric (as
skewness as show in fig.29 a & b, element quality as show in fig.30 a & b, and aspect ratio as show
in fig.31 a & b) is acceptable to avoid negative elements occurrence which will cause solver
divergence.
Figure 29Mesh metric(skewness)
Page | 38
Figure 30Mesh metric (Element Quality)
Page | 39
Figure 31Mesh metric (Aspect Ratio)
Now, mesh setup is presented in table 3

Table 3. Mesh Setup
Object Name Mesh

State Solved
Display
Display Style Use Geometry Setting
Defaults
Physics Preference CFD
Solver Preference CFX
Element Order Linear
Element Size 500.0 mm
Sizing
Use Adaptive Sizing No
Growth Rate Default (1.2)
Max Size Default (1000.0 mm)
Mesh Defeaturing Yes
Defeature Size Default (2.5 mm)
Capture Curvature Yes
Curvature Min Size Default (5.0 mm)
Curvature Normal Angle Default (18.0°)
Capture Proximity No
Bounding Box Diagonal 38299 mm
Average Surface Area 4.7987e+007 mm²
Minimum Edge Length 0.3828 mm
Quality
Check Mesh Quality Yes, Errors
Target Skewness Default (0.900000)
Smoothing Medium
Page | 40
Mesh Metric None
Inflation
Use Automatic Inflation None
Inflation Option Smooth Transition
Transition Ratio 0.77
Maximum Layers 5
Growth Rate 1.2
Inflation Algorithm Pre
View Advanced Options No
Advanced
Number of CPUs for Parallel Part Meshing Program Controlled
Straight Sided Elements
Rigid Body Behavior Dimensionally Reduced
Triangle Surface Mesher Program Controlled
Topology Checking Yes
Pinch Tolerance Default (4.5 mm)
Generate Pinch on Refresh No
Statistics
Nodes 331176
Elements 1417318
After checking the skewness, aspect ratio and the mesh quality (which is considered as a
combination of all element parameters in one test), we decided that this mesh is acceptable.
Note: the mesh statistics (table 4) is considered a very important criterion to accept the mesh,
because we can increase the number of nodes but our available computational resources will not
be able to handle it.
Table 4. Mesh Statistics
Domain Nodes Elements

Amb 40460 209671
Rotating 268618 1133953
All Domains 309078 1343624
Page | 41
4.3. Boundary Conditions and Model Setup
In this step we will provide the program with the suitable inputs (velocity, pressure and
temperature…etc) which simulates our case, any non-reasonable inputs may lead to diverging
solution which may lead to inaccurate results or a crash in solver.
From our previous work we recognized that the most suitable turbulence model to solve this
certain case is the shear stress transport, so we will use it as our solving turbulence model.
Boundary conditions and model setup are presented in tables 5 & 6.
Table 5. Boundary Conditions
Domain – Amb
Type Fluid
Location B108
Materials
Air Ideal Gas
Fluid Definition Material Library
Morphology Continuous Fluid
Settings
Buoyancy Model Non Buoyant
Domain Motion Stationary
Reference Pressure 0.0000e+0 [atm]
Heat Transfer Model Total Energy
Include Viscous Work Term True
Page | 42
Turbulence Model k-Epsilon
Turbulent Wall Functions Scalable
High Speed Model Off
Domain – Rotating
Type Fluid
Location B52
Materials
Air Ideal Gas
Fluid Definition Material Library
Morphology Continuous Fluid
Settings
Buoyancy Model Non Buoyant
Domain Motion Rotating
Alternate Rotation Model On
Angular Velocity -1.3642e+2 [rev min^-1]
Axis Definition Coordinate Axis
Rotation Axis Coord 0.2
Reference Pressure 0.0000e+0 [atm]
Heat Transfer Model Total Energy
Include Viscous Work Term True
Page | 43
Turbulence Model k-Epsilon
Turbulent Wall Functions Scalable
High Speed Model Off
Domain Interface - Amb Rotating wall
Boundary List1 Amb Rotating wall Side 1
Boundary List2 Amb Rotating wall Side 2
Interface Type Fluid Fluid
Settings
Interface Models General Connection
Frame Change Transient Rotor Stator
Mass And Momentum Conservative Interface Flux
Pitch Change Value
Pitch Ratio 1.0000e+0
Mesh Connection GGI
Domain Interface - Amb To Rotating Out
Boundary List1 Amb To Rotating Out Side 1
Boundary List2 Amb To Rotating Out Side 2
Settings
Page | 44
Pitch Change Value
Mesh Connection GGI
Domain Interface - Amb To Rotating in
Boundary List1 Amb To Rotating in Side 1
Boundary List2 Amb To Rotating in Side 2
Settings
Pitch Change Value
Mesh Connection GGI
Page | 45
Table 6. Model Setup
Domain Boundaries
Amb Boundary – ambinlet
Type INLET
Location Amb.inlet
Settings
Flow Regime Subsonic
Heat Transfer Total Temperature
Total 2.9815e+2 [K]

Temperature
Mass And Normal Speed

Momentum
Normal 4.0000e+0 [m s^-1]

Speed
Turbulence Medium Intensity and Eddy Viscosity Ratio
Boundary - Amb Rotating wall Side 1
Type INTERFACE
Location Rot.side
Settings
Heat Transfer Conservative Interface Flux
Page | 46
Mass And Conservative Interface Flux
Momentum
Turbulence Conservative Interface Flux
Boundary - Amb To Rotating Out Side 1
Type INTERFACE
Location Rot.outlet
Settings

Momentum
Boundary - Amb To Rotating in Side 1
Type INTERFACE
Location F112.108
Settings

Momentum
Boundary – ambside
Type OPENING
Page | 47
Location Amb.side
Settings
Flow Direction Normal to Boundary Condition
Heat Transfer Opening Temperature
Opening 2.9815e+2 [K]

Temperature
Mass And Opening Pressure and Direction

Momentum
Relative 1.0000e+0 [atm]

Pressure
Turbulence Medium Intensity and Eddy Viscosity Ratio
Boundary – amboutlet
Type OUTLET
Location Amb.outlet
Settings
Mass And Static Pressure

Momentum
Relative 1.0000e+0 [atm]

Pressure
Rotating Boundary - Amb Rotating wall Side 2
Page | 48
Type INTERFACE
Location F54.52
Settings

Momentum
Boundary - Amb To Rotating Out Side 2
Type INTERFACE
Location F53.52
Settings

Momentum
Boundary - Amb To Rotating in Side 2
Type INTERFACE
Location F55.52
Settings
Page | 49
Momentum
Boundary - Rotating Default
Type WALL
Location F56.52, F57.52, F58.52, F59.52, F60.52, F61.52, F62.52, F63.52,

F64.52, F65.52, F66.52, F67.52, F68.52, F69.52, F70.52, F71.52,
F72.52, F73.52, F74.52, F75.52
Settings
Heat Transfer Adiabatic
Mass And No Slip Wall

Momentum
Wall Roughness Smooth Wall
The program will process the data which is provided above, the time of solution depends on
timestep, number of iterations and number of elements in the model.
We will start solving for the steady state conditions to get the initial data from which we will start
our transient solution.
The steady state solution had around 100 iterations, and the transient solution was
established to simulate 3 revolutions of the rotor with speed 136 rpm, which is corresponding to
having wind speed of 4 m/s and TSR of 5. This is a total real time of 1.32 seconds; we divided the
total time over 100 to get an initial time step of 0.0132 seconds.
Page | 50
4.4. Simulation Results
After the solving process which took around 11.5 hours of continuous solving, we will demonstrate
the most important results that will help us determine and validate the performance of the wind
turbine.
Figure 32 shows that y-plus at blades around 0.14 which is perfect as solution is well as y-plus
around 1 and we exclude hub from inflation because our scope didn’t on it and y-plus on hup
around 140
Figure 32. Y plus on the rotor surface
Note that velocity near tip from outside rotor are equal to velocity of free stream and velocity
across blade are decreased from tip to hup due to induction factor as show in figure 33.
In figure 34, stream line of flow and also show vortex that happen back and in front of blades.
Page | 51
Figure 33 Velocity in Y direction at the rotating domain inlet
Figure 34velocity in stationary frame
Page | 52
Contours showed in figure 35 that pressure before turbine is atmospheric pressure(1.013bar) and
decreasing after crossing the rotor.
Figure 35. Pressure distribution
Figure 36velocity vector
Page | 53
The vector in figure 36 shows flow direction before crossing the rotor (free stream) is in straight
line, and starts to form wakes after the rotor.
Now we can calculate the Cp by taking the average velocity at the interface between the rotating
domain inlet and the ambient using the suitable expression. This velocity called U1 and Cp is
function in axial induction factor which is function in U1. The simulation result of Cp equals 0.45.
Taking into account that the theoretical Cp was 0.495, so the simulation is reasonable and validate
our design process.
Page | 54
5. Stress Analysis
5.1. Introduction
In order to validate the safety of our design, we made stress analysis using SOLIDWORKS as our
software program. First, we calculated the acting forces on the blades, then we will insert the
design in the program and apply the previously calculated forces on it after generating a suitable
mesh and providing the suitable conditions. our choices of blade materials were limited to the
materials found in the 3D-printing service providers and the most suitable material was the Nylon
101 so we had to make sure that the stresses would not reach the ultimate stress of the selected
material.
5.2. loading conditions
The two main forces to be taken into consideration are thrust and centrifugal forces, they will be
calculated as follows:
• The Thrust Force
Figure 37. An energy extracting actuator disc and stream-tube
Page | 55
As the wind stream approaches the disc, its velocity continuously decreases accompanied by a
static pressure rise. The presence of the wind turbine rotor disc, develops a backpressure upwind
of the disc. This causes a small pressure drop through the propeller. The pressure and velocity
variations upwind and downwind of the disc are governed by the Bernoulli equation.
The axial thrust on the disc due to change of momentum of the wind is calculated as follows:
𝐹𝑥 = 𝑚(𝑈∞ − 𝑈𝑤 ) = 𝜌𝑈𝐷 𝐴(𝑈∞ − 𝑈𝑤 ) (35)
Where 𝑈∞ is velocity upwind, 𝑈𝑊 velocity downwind.
From the Bernoulli equation, we have for flows upwind and downwind of the disc and immediately
upwind and downwind are the same.
1 1
𝑃𝑎 + 2
𝜌𝑈∞ = 𝑃1 + 𝜌𝑈𝐷 2 (36)
2 2
1 1
𝑃2 + 𝜌𝑈𝐷 2 = 𝑃𝑎 + 𝜌𝑈𝑤2 (37)
2 2
Then we get the following equation:
1 2
𝑃1 − 𝑃2 = 𝜌(𝑈∞ − 𝑈𝑤2 ) (38)
2
The axial thrust due to the static pressure difference across the disc is:
𝐹𝑥 = 𝐴(𝑃1 − 𝑃2 )
Then
1 2
(𝑈∞ + 𝑈𝑤 )
𝐹𝑥 = 𝜌𝐴(𝑈∞ − 𝑈𝑤2 ) = 𝜌𝐴 (𝑈∞ − 𝑈𝑤 ) (39)
2 2
For our case:

• ρ = 1.2 kg/m3
• A= 𝜋*(radius)2 (radius=1.3 meter)
Page | 56
• 𝑈∞ = 4 m/sec
• 𝑈𝑤 = 2 m/sec
So, the thrust force will equal = 38.22 N
• The Centrifugal Force
Centrifugal force is the apparent outward force on a mass when it is rotated. Illustrated in figure
38, think of a ball on the end of a string that is being twirled around. In an inertial frame, there is
no outward acceleration since the system is not rotating. The ball just moves in the straight line
that they were following originally. But in the rotating reference frame of the string or the car, they
appear to be accelerated away. Since Earth rotates around a fixed axis, the direction of centrifugal
force is always outward away from the axis. So, in our case the centrifugal force is acting in the
outward direction of the circular path of the rotation of the turbine blades and it can be identified
using multiple simulation software, SOLIDWORKS demands the rotational speed to calculate the
centrifugal force.
Figure 38centrifugal force demonstration
Page | 57
5.3. Finite Element Model
SOLIDWORKS can be used effectively in simulating the applied forces on our design, so we first
started by importing the full rotor into SOLIDWORKS and applied the material of blades (Nylon
101) and using suitable fastening bolts (steel 1020) and then creating a suitable mesh, which is a
simple process consists of setting the element size (36 mm) and mesh quality (fine).
Then we applied the rotation motion with 400 rpm (in the direction of red arrow) with the center
of the hub acting as a hinge, also thrust force that we previously calculated is applied on the frontal
area of the blades facing the wind as shown in the following figures.
Figure 39 Applied forces and rotational speed direction
Page | 58
5.4. Stress Analysis Results
From figure 40 it is obvious that the blade design is 100% safe as its fully represented by the blue
color and the maximum stress which is 4.5e+07 N/m2 is only acting on the hub.
The stress applied on the blades is 1.718e+03 N/m2 which is less than the Nylon 101 ultimate
stress which is 4.72e+06 N/m2.
Figure 40 stress analysis results demonstration
Many collapse cases of wind turbines which operated in wind farms are caused by the event that
blade tip hits the tower. So, one of the important indicators in wind turbine design is the tip
deflection estimation. The distance from tip to the outside of the tower determines the safety of
wind turbines. Usually the maximum tip deflection (also known as displacement) possibly occurs
in some extreme conditions during wind turbine operation; therefore, studying of the wind turbine
blade tip displacement calculation method and its safety is very essential for our design and
SOLIDWORKS provided us with the exact deflection value. The maximum value of the
displacement of the rotor blades is 23.8 cm at the tip of the blade (figure 41), which is acceptable
if we designed the tower to be more than 23.8 cm away from the blades, as shown in figure 41.
Page | 59
Figure 41. Displacement results demonstration
Figure 42. Minimum distance between blades and tower
Page | 60
6. Manufacturing
In order to manufacture the turbine blades, we had multiple manufacturing methods, for example
3D-printing, vacuum forming or Computer Numerically Controlled machines (CNC), we decided
on using 3D-printing techniques to be our manufacturing method as it is fast, accurate and could
produce complex shapes as well as being identical to the original design.
6.1. The 3D printing Technology
3D printing (figure 43) or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid
objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes.
In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the
object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced cross-section of the object. 3D
printing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which is cutting out / hollowing out a piece
of metal or plastic with for instance a milling machine. It enables you to produce complex shapes
using less material than traditional manufacturing methods.
Figure 43. 3-D Printer
It all starts with a 3D model (Figure 44), which in our case is created by SOLIDWORKS software
and then saved as a compatible file for the 3D-printing machine to recognize. Feeding the file to
your printer can be done via USB, SD or Wi-Fi. Your file is now ready to be 3D printed layer by
layer.
Page | 61
Figure 44. Working drawing of rotor blade
3D printing materials come in a wide array of forms. Most consumer 3D printed products are made
from thermoplastics. Designers and engineers prefer creating functional prototypes from 3D
printing materials that have the same or similar material properties as what’s used in creating the
finished product. Plastics are the most widely adopted 3D printed material - and it comes in
filament, resin, granule, and powder forms. Most thermoplastic 3D printing materials can be used
in home 3D printing technology and professional applications as well. For our design we used
Nylon 101 material with stress strain curve as in Figure 45.
Figure 45. Stress-Strain curve for Nylon 101
Page | 62
6.2. Blade Sections Joining Method
Manufacturing with a 3D-printer is not a zero-problems process as in our case we had to face the
problem of the turbine blade being too big to be printed at once, so we had to divide it into three
parts that would be 3D-printed separately and joined together later by a specific type of joint.
There are plenty of joining methods with every one of them serving a specific purpose, for us we
needed a simple yet effective way to join our three separated parts and we had to make sure it
would never break free as it would reduce the safety of our design and for us making the design
safe was a priority.
T-section method (Figure 46) was a great fit as it is was simple enough not to cause any complexity
in our design and also can hold down the parts very well so we started to search how could we
apply this method to our design and later test it using stress analysis methods.
Figure 46. T-section joining method
Page | 63
7. References
• Wood, D. D. (2011). Small Wind Turbines, Analysis, Design, and Application. Canada:
Springer.
• Tony Burton, Nick Jenkins, David Sharpe and Ervin Bossanyi. (2011). Wind Energy
Handbok, Second Edition. Wiley.
• K S Abdelwahed and A I Abd El-Rahman. (2020). Shape optimization of SG6043 airfoil for
small wind turbine blades. Journal of Physics.
• Arafat Ahmed Bhuiyan, A K M Sadrul Islam, Abdullah Ibne Alam. (2011). Application of Wind
Resource Assessment (WBA) tool: A case study in Kuakata, Bangladesh. International Journal Of
Renewable Energy Research, IJRER, 83-90.
Page | 64
APPENDIX (A): MATLAB Codes
Optimal chord-twist angle distribution code

clear;
clc;
R=1.4;
N=3;
a=1/3;
Uo=4;
Lam=5;
r=(0.22:0.083:1.4);
rpm=30*Uo*Lam/(pi*R);
Cl=1.3215; %Optimum Cl @ Re=60,000

alpha=5.5; %Optimum alpha @ Re=60,000
for i=1:length(r)
Lam_r(i)=Lam*r(i)/R;
a_=a*(1-a)/(Lam_r(i))^2;
c(i)=(4*Lam_r(i)^2*a_*2*pi*R)/(N*Lam*Cl*sqrt((1-
a)^2+(Lam_r(i)*(1+a_))^2));
phi(i)=(atan((1-a)/(Lam_r(i)*(1+a_))))*180/pi;
Beta(i)=phi(i)-alpha;
end
rad=r(:)
chord=c(:)
Twist=Beta(:)
data_out =[rad chord/R Twist];
data_out =[i R 0.22;data_out];
save('opt_dist.dat','data_out','-ascii')
Page | 65
Blade element analysis code of Chapter 5 of (Wood, 2011)
function power_calc(Numb)
% Program to implement blade element/one-dimensional wake

analysis for
% a horizontal-axis wind turbine with any number of blades of
any length.
% The function argument and main variables are the same as in
% simple_power_calc.m described in Chapter 3. Note that a (the
axial
% induction factor) used here is the value at the blade, a_b.
Uo=4;
visc = 1.5e-5; % Kinematic viscosity of air (m^2/s) needed for
Reynolds no.
rho = 1.2; % Density of air (kg/m^3) used in finding power
and thrust
tol = 1.e-5; % Convergence tolerance for BE analysis
in = load('opt_dist.dat'); % Read data file with radius, chord,
and twist
rad=in(:,1); % Recover the radius of the blade elements
nbes = rad(1); % First entry is nbes
rad(1) = []; % Remove from array for radius
chord=in(:,2); % recover the chord of the blade elements
r_tip= chord(1); % First entry is r_tip
chord(1) = [];
twist=in(:,3); % Recover the twist of the blade elements
twist(1) = [];
delr=rad(2)-rad(1); % Determine width of blade elements
ReadIn_4412 % Read in Cl and Cd for the NACA 4412 section

%ReadIn_7062 % Read in Cl and Cd for the SD7062 section
a_c = 1/3.0; % Set a for modified thrust equations
outfile_a = fopen('out_a.dat', 'w');

outfile_b = fopen('out_b.dat', 'w');
outfile_c = fopen('out_c.dat', 'w');
heading_screen=...
' Radius iter. aoa a Cl Cd
deltor Re \n';
heading_a=...
' Radius iter. aoa a Cl Cd
deltor Re \n';
heading_b=' Radius U1 gamma deltor delthr
\n';
Page | 66
format_screen=' %7.4f %3d %7.2f %7.3f %7.3f %8.5f %8.5f
%8.3e \n';
format_a=' %7.4f %3d %7.2f %7.3f %7.3f %8.5f %8.5f %8.3e
\n';
format_b=' %7.4f %7.5f %7.5f %8.5f %8.5f \n';
U0 = input(' Enter the wind speed in m/sec: end with -ve: ');
while U0 > 0.0;
fprintf(outfile_a, ' For U0 = %4f m/s \n', U0);
fprintf(outfile_b, ' For U0 = %4f m/s \n', U0);
fprintf(outfile_c, ' For U0 = %4f m/s \n', U0);
fprintf(outfile_c, ' TSR Cp Ct \n');
lambda = input(' Enter TSR: end with -ve: ');
while lambda > 0.0
fprintf(outfile_a, ' For TSR = %4f \n', lambda);
fprintf(outfile_b, ' For TSR = %4f \n', lambda);
thrust = 0.0; torque = 0.0;
fprintf('\n')
fprintf(heading_screen)
fprintf(outfile_a,heading_a);
fprintf(outfile_b,heading_b);
a = 0.3; % Initialise a
Q=0;
for i = 1: nbes
adash = 0.0; deltor = 0.0;
lamr = lambda*rad(i); % Local speed ratio
sigma = 0.5*Numb*chord(i)/pi/rad(i); % Local
solidity
bigF = 1;
for j = 1:40 % Limit the number of iterations per
BE to 40
phi = atan((1 - a)/(1 + adash)/lamr); %
Eq.3.12
cosphi = cos(phi);
sinphi = sin(phi);
smallf = 0.5*Numb*(1/rad(i)-1)/sin(phi); %
Eq.5.2
bigF = 2*acos(exp(-smallf))/pi; % Eq. 5.1
aoa = phi*180.0/pi - twist(i); % Find aoa
Ut = sqrt((1-a)^2 + (lamr*(1 + adash))^2); %
Eq.3.7
Re = Ut*U0*chord(i)*r_tip/visc; % The
Reynolds number
[Cl, Cd] = LandD(aoa, Re); % Find lift and
drag
C_a = Cl*cosphi + Cd*sinphi; % For axial
force
C_adash = Cl*sinphi - Cd*cosphi;
Page | 67
Y1 = 4*bigF*sinphi^2/sigma/C_a; % Eq.5.6a
Y2 = 4*bigF*sinphi*cosphi/sigma/C_adash;
%Eq.5.6b
if (Y1 >= 2.0 ) % In the low thrust region
newa = (2 + Y1 - sqrt(Y1*(4*(1-bigF) +
Y1)))/2/(1+bigF*Y1);
else % Use Glauert`s correction for the high
thrust region
c_t = 1 -2*a_c*bigF;
newa = (2 + Y1*c_t-sqrt((Y1*c_t+2)^2 -
4*(1-a_c^2*bigF*Y1)))/2;
end
diffa = abs(a - newa);
a = newa;
adash = 1/((1-a*bigF)*Y2/(1-a)-1);
if diffa < tol*a && j > 3; break; end
end
aF=a*bigF;
Ngam = 0.5*Numb*Ut*chord(i)*Cl; % Eq.4.12a
delthr = Numb*Ut*Ut*chord(i)*delr/pi; % Eq.3.10
deltor = delthr*rad(i)*C_adash; % Eq.3.11
delthr = delthr*C_a; % Completing Eq. 3.10
thrust = thrust + delthr;
torque = torque + deltor; % Sum the rotor torque
dQ=0.5*rho*Ut*Ut*Uo*Uo*chord(i)*r_tip*Numb*C_adash*rad(i)*r_tip*
delr;
Q=Q+dQ;
fprintf(format_screen, rad(i), j, aoa, aF, Cl, Cd,
deltor, Re)
fprintf(outfile_a,format_a , rad(i), j, aoa, aF,
Cl, Cd, deltor, Re);
fprintf(outfile_b,format_b , rad(i), 1 - aF, Ngam,
deltor, delthr);
end
TORQUE=Q
cp = torque*lambda;
fprintf(' \n')
fprintf(' Cp = %5f, Ct = %5f \n', cp, thrust)
fprintf(outfile_c,'%5f %5f %5f \n', lambda, cp,
thrust);
power = 0.5*cp*rho*U0^3*pi*r_tip^2; % Convert from Cp to
power
thrust = 0.5*thrust*rho*U0^2*pi*r_tip^2; % Convert from
Ct to thrust
fprintf(' Power = %5e Watts, Thrust = %5e Newtons \n',
power, thrust)
Page | 68
fprintf(' \n')
lambda = input(' Enter TSR: end with -ve: ');
end
U0 = input(' Enter the wind speed in m/sec: end with -ve: ');
end
fclose(outfile_a); fclose(outfile_b); fclose(outfile_c);
Page | 69
APPENDIX (B): Components Drawings
Blade CAD
Page | 70
Hub CAD
Page | 71
Generator CAD
Page | 72
Tower CAD
Page | 73
APPENDIX (C): Airfoil Coordination
X/C Y/C
1 0
0.9969 0.000989
0.9938 0.002
0.9905 0.003033
0.9872 0.004086
0.9837 0.005157
0.9802 0.006245
0.9766 0.007348
0.9728 0.008465
0.9691 0.009595
0.9652 0.010736
0.9612 0.011887
0.9572 0.013047
Page | 74
0.9531 0.014214
0.9489 0.015388
0.9446 0.016567
0.9403 0.017751
0.9359 0.018938
0.9314 0.020127
0.9269 0.021317
0.9223 0.022508
0.9176 0.023699
0.9129 0.024888
0.9081 0.026076
0.9033 0.02726
0.8984 0.028441
0.8934 0.029618
0.8884 0.030789
0.8833 0.031955
0.8782 0.033115
0.873 0.034268
0.8678 0.035413
0.8626 0.036551
0.8572 0.03768
0.8519 0.0388
0.8465 0.039911
0.841 0.041011
0.8355 0.042102
0.83 0.043182
0.8245 0.04425
0.8188 0.045307
0.8132 0.046353
0.8075 0.047386
0.8018 0.048407
Page | 75
0.7961 0.049415
0.7903 0.05041
0.7845 0.051392
0.7786 0.052361
0.7727 0.053315
0.7668 0.054256
0.7609 0.055183
0.7549 0.056096
0.749 0.056994
0.7429 0.057877
0.7369 0.058746
0.7308 0.0596
0.7248 0.060439
0.7186 0.061262
0.7125 0.062071
0.7064 0.062864
0.7002 0.063642
0.694 0.064405
0.6878 0.065152
0.6816 0.065883
0.6753 0.066599
0.6691 0.067299
0.6628 0.067983
0.6565 0.068652
0.6502 0.069305
0.6439 0.069942
0.6376 0.070563
0.6313 0.071168
0.6249 0.071758
0.6186 0.072331
0.6122 0.072889
Page | 76
0.6058 0.073431
0.5994 0.073957
0.593 0.074467
0.5866 0.074961
0.5802 0.075439
0.5738 0.075901
0.5674 0.076348
0.561 0.076778
0.5546 0.077193
0.5481 0.077591
0.5417 0.077974
0.5353 0.078341
0.5289 0.078692
0.5224 0.079027
0.516 0.079346
0.5096 0.079649
0.5031 0.079936
0.4967 0.080207
0.4903 0.080463
0.4838 0.080702
0.4774 0.080925
0.471 0.081133
0.4646 0.081324
0.4582 0.081499
0.4518 0.081658
0.4454 0.081801
0.439 0.081928
0.4326 0.082038
0.4263 0.082133
0.4199 0.082211
0.4136 0.082272
Page | 77
0.4072 0.082317
0.4009 0.082346
0.3946 0.082358
0.3883 0.082353
0.382 0.082332
0.3757 0.082294
0.3695 0.082239
0.3632 0.082167
0.357 0.082078
0.3508 0.081972
0.3446 0.081849
0.3384 0.081709
0.3322 0.081551
0.3261 0.081375
0.32 0.081182
0.3139 0.080971
0.3078 0.080742
0.3018 0.080495
0.2958 0.08023
0.2898 0.079947
0.2838 0.079645
0.2778 0.079325
0.2719 0.078986
0.266 0.078628
0.2602 0.078251
0.2543 0.077855
0.2485 0.07744
0.2428 0.077006
0.237 0.076552
0.2313 0.076078
0.2257 0.075584
Page | 78
0.22 0.07507
0.2144 0.074537
0.2089 0.073982
0.2034 0.073408
0.1979 0.072812
0.1925 0.072196
0.1871 0.071559
0.1817 0.070901
0.1764 0.070221
0.1712 0.06952
0.166 0.068797
0.1608 0.068053
0.1557 0.067287
0.1506 0.066499
0.1456 0.065688
0.1407 0.064856
0.1358 0.064001
0.131 0.063123
0.1262 0.062223
0.1215 0.0613
0.1168 0.060354
0.1122 0.059385
0.1077 0.058393
0.1032 0.057377
0.0988 0.056339
0.0945 0.055277
0.0902 0.054191
0.086 0.053083
0.0819 0.05195
0.0779 0.050794
0.0739 0.049615
Page | 79
0.07 0.048411
0.0662 0.047185
0.0625 0.045934
0.0589 0.04466
0.0553 0.043363
0.0519 0.042041
0.0485 0.040697
0.0452 0.039329
0.042 0.037937
0.0389 0.036523
0.036 0.035085
0.0331 0.033625
0.0303 0.032142
0.0276 0.030636
0.025 0.029108
0.0226 0.027557
0.0202 0.025985
0.018 0.024391
0.0159 0.022775
0.0139 0.021139
0.012 0.019481
0.0102 0.017804
0.0086 0.016106
0.0071 0.014388
0.0057 0.012652
0.0045 0.010896
0.0034 0.009123
0.0024 0.007332
0.0016 0.005523
0.0009 0.003698
0.0004 0.001857
Page | 80
0 0
0.0004 -0.00095
0.0009 -0.00181
0.0016 -0.00259
0.0024 -0.00328
0.0034 -0.00389
0.0045 -0.00444
0.0057 -0.00491
0.0071 -0.00531
0.0086 -0.00566
0.0102 -0.00594
0.012 -0.00616
0.0139 -0.00634
0.0159 -0.00646
0.018 -0.00654
0.0202 -0.00657
0.0226 -0.00655
0.025 -0.0065
0.0276 -0.00641
0.0303 -0.00629
0.0331 -0.00613
0.036 -0.00595
0.0389 -0.00573
0.042 -0.00549
0.0452 -0.00522
0.0485 -0.00493
0.0519 -0.00462
0.0553 -0.00429
0.0589 -0.00394
0.0625 -0.00357
0.0662 -0.00319
Page | 81
0.07 -0.00279
0.0739 -0.00238
0.0779 -0.00196
0.0819 -0.00152
0.086 -0.00108
0.0902 -0.00063
0.0945 -0.00017
0.0988 0.0003
0.1032 0.000775
0.1077 0.001255
0.1122 0.00174
0.1168 0.002229
0.1215 0.002723
0.1262 0.00322
0.131 0.003719
0.1358 0.004221
0.1407 0.004725
0.1456 0.005231
0.1506 0.005738
0.1557 0.006245
0.1608 0.006753
0.166 0.007262
0.1712 0.00777
0.1764 0.008278
0.1817 0.008786
0.1871 0.009294
0.1925 0.009801
0.1979 0.010307
0.2034 0.010812
0.2089 0.011316
0.2144 0.011819
Page | 82
0.22 0.012321
0.2257 0.012821
0.2313 0.013321
0.237 0.013819
0.2428 0.014315
0.2485 0.014811
0.2543 0.015305
0.2602 0.015797
0.266 0.016289
0.2719 0.016779
0.2778 0.017267
0.2838 0.017754
0.2898 0.01824
0.2958 0.018724
0.3018 0.019206
0.3078 0.019688
0.3139 0.020168
0.32 0.020646
0.3261 0.021123
0.3322 0.021598
0.3384 0.022072
0.3446 0.022544
0.3508 0.023014
0.357 0.023482
0.3632 0.023949
0.3695 0.024414
0.3757 0.024877
0.382 0.025337
0.3883 0.025796
0.3946 0.026252
0.4009 0.026705
Page | 83
0.4072 0.027156
0.4136 0.027604
0.4199 0.028049
0.4263 0.02849
0.4326 0.028929
0.439 0.029363
0.4454 0.029794
0.4518 0.030221
0.4582 0.030643
0.4646 0.03106
0.471 0.031473
0.4774 0.03188
0.4838 0.032282
0.4903 0.032678
0.4967 0.033068
0.5031 0.033451
0.5096 0.033827
0.516 0.034196
0.5224 0.034557
0.5289 0.03491
0.5353 0.035254
0.5417 0.03559
0.5481 0.035916
0.5546 0.036232
0.561 0.036538
0.5674 0.036833
0.5738 0.037117
0.5802 0.03739
0.5866 0.03765
0.593 0.037897
0.5994 0.038131
Page | 84
0.6058 0.038352
0.6122 0.038558
0.6186 0.03875
0.6249 0.038927
0.6313 0.039088
0.6376 0.039232
0.6439 0.03936
0.6502 0.039471
0.6565 0.039563
0.6628 0.039638
0.6691 0.039694
0.6753 0.039731
0.6816 0.039747
0.6878 0.039744
0.694 0.03972
0.7002 0.039675
0.7064 0.039608
0.7125 0.039519
0.7186 0.039408
0.7248 0.039274
0.7308 0.039117
0.7369 0.038936
0.7429 0.038731
0.749 0.038502
0.7549 0.038249
0.7609 0.03797
0.7668 0.037667
0.7727 0.037338
0.7786 0.036984
0.7845 0.036604
0.7903 0.036199
Page | 85
0.7961 0.035767
0.8018 0.03531
0.8075 0.034827
0.8132 0.034318
0.8188 0.033784
0.8245 0.033223
0.83 0.032638
0.8355 0.032027
0.841 0.031391
0.8465 0.03073
0.8519 0.030046
0.8572 0.029337
0.8626 0.028605
0.8678 0.027851
0.873 0.027074
0.8782 0.026276
0.8833 0.025457
0.8884 0.024619
0.8934 0.023761
0.8984 0.022886
0.9033 0.021994
0.9081 0.021086
0.9129 0.020164
0.9176 0.019229
0.9223 0.018282
0.9269 0.017325
0.9314 0.01636
0.9359 0.015387
0.9403 0.01441
0.9446 0.01343
0.9489 0.012448
Page | 86
0.9531 0.011468
0.9572 0.01049
0.9612 0.009519
0.9652 0.008555
0.9691 0.007602
0.9728 0.006663
0.9766 0.00574
0.9802 0.004836
0.9837 0.003954
0.9872 0.003098
0.9905 0.002271
0.9938 0.001476
0.9969 0.000718
1 0
Page | 87

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CAIRO UNIVERSITY

B. Sc. Graduation Project

Designing, Building and Testing of 1-kW

Ahmed Omar Shaaban

24th July, 2021

1.1. Classification of Small Wind Turbines .........................................................1

1.1.1. Horizontal Axis Small Wind Turbine .....................................................2

1.1.2. Vertical Axis Wind Turbines ..................................................................5

1.2. The Development of Small Wind Turbines ..................................................6

1.3. Challenges of using wind energy ..................................................................8

1.4. The Scope of This Work ...............................................................................9

2. Aerodynamic Theory of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines ................................10

2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................10

2.1.1. Assumptions: .........................................................................................10

2.2. Actuator disk theory ....................................................................................10

2.2.1. Conservation of mass ............................................................................11

2.2.2. Conservation of Momentum .................................................................13

2.2.3. Conservation of Angular Momentum ...................................................14

2.2.4. Conservation of Energy ........................................................................15

2.2.5. Turbine Operating Parameters and Optimum Performance .................16

2.3. Blade Element/Momentum Theory .............................................................18

2.3.1. The Conservation Equations for Annular Streamtubes ........................18

3. Optimal Blade Design .......................................................................................24

3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................24

3.2. Variable Speed Operation ...........................................................................24

3.3. Airfoil Selection ..........................................................................................26

3.4. Design Parameters and Procedures .............................................................27

3.4.1. Design Parameters.................................................................................27

3.4.2. Design Procedure ..................................................................................27

3.5. Final Design and Analysis Results ..............................................................27

4. CFD Analysis ....................................................................................................35

4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................35

4.2. Geometry and Domain Meshing .................................................................35

4.3. Boundary Conditions and Model Setup ......................................................42

4.4. Simulation Results .......................................................................................51

5. Stress Analysis ..................................................................................................55

5.1. Introduction .................................................................................................55

5.2. loading conditions .......................................................................................55

5.3. Finite Element Model ..................................................................................58

5.4. Stress Analysis Results ................................................................................59

6.2. Blade Sections Joining Method ...................................................................63

APPENDIX (A): MATLAB Codes .........................................................................65

Optimal chord-twist angle distribution code ........................................................65

Blade element analysis code of Chapter 5 of (Wood, 2011) ................................66

APPENDIX (B): Components Drawings ................................................................70

Blade CAD ...........................................................................................................70

Hub CAD ..............................................................................................................71

Generator CAD .....................................................................................................72

Tower CAD ..........................................................................................................73

APPENDIX (C): Airfoil Coordination ....................................................................74

Table 1. Aerodynamics performance of the optimum profiles at Re=59,315 .........26

Table 2. Optimum chord-twist angle distribution @ TSR = 5 ................................28

Table 3. Mesh Setup.................................................................................................40

Table 4. Mesh Statistics ...........................................................................................41

Table 5. Boundary Conditions .................................................................................42

Table 6. Model Setup ...............................................................................................46

Figure 2. Upwind HAWT ..........................................................................................3

Figure 3. Down-wind HAWT ....................................................................................4