Wind Turbine Aerodynamics Analysis

In the design of a commercially viable wind turbine - to make wind power economically feasible - it is important to maximize the efficiency of converting wind energy into mechanical energy. Among the different aspects involved, rotor aerodynamics is a key determinant for achieving this goal. Although the significant progress in the 30-year history of modern wind energy, many phenomena are still not fully understood. Concerning the unsolved problem, mainly engineering methods have been proposed. Most of those techniques are not universally applicable, so that a better physical understanding is needed. Specifically, the aim of the project was to get a better understanding of the physical behavior of the flow field past wind turbine rotor, focusing on analyses of aerodynamic forces acts on the rotor using Blade Element Momentum (BEM) as well as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods. As a more general goal, the project was aimed at proving the capabilities of modern numerical techniques, when applying to complex fluid dynamic problems. The main purpose is hence the physics of power extraction by wind turbines.