Author : Rahmanlou, Muhammad Ali Ashjari Aghdam and Khosrow Bakhtari

This study investigates the optimization methods for turbine blades with working speeds below 10 m/s. This type of optimization is based on analytic methods leading to optimal torsion angle and hypotenuse length for each section of the turbine blade to achieve the maximum power. To this end, we developed a code using MATLAB software and by changing the airfoil type and ambient conditions, the optimum geometry for the airfoil and maximum achievable power is calculated. We used the Schmitz and Betz method for optimization, and to calculate the power, we used the momentum theory of blade element. We executed this code for several different airfoils and finally calculated the optimal blade for intended conditions. In the end, we used the Fluent software to calculate the flow field around the optimal turbine blade and the results showed the consistency of the calculated power using numerical methods and the presented code as well as the past studies. Ultimately, we conducted an economic analysis for the selected optimal blade which showed the economic gain of the article at annual mean wind speed of 6 m/s.

Keywords: Wind turbine blade, airfoil, blade optimization, computer simulation

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.7, No.3 (June-2017)