Key outcomes:
- Improved performance
- Rapid design process
Figure 1: Animation showing the vortices formed by the turbine blades and hub, and streamlines showing the swirling of the flow behind the turbine. A large vortex is formed by the tip of the blades, with another formed in the wake of the hub.
Wind turbines play an essential role in the transition towards fossil fuel free electricity generation. A major part of wind turbine design is optimizing the blade design to generate high energy for given turbine size and wind conditions. Things to consider include blade chord, twist, stiffness and materials. A wide range of turbine designs exist, each designed for different applications. The optimization also includes determining operating conditions such as rotational speed and cut-out wind speed.
Synergetics can assist with the design using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Computer modelling is used to study energy output, blade forces and can also be used to investigate speed control solutions, tower and housing design, and optimise performance under adverse wind conditions.
Figure 2: Vortices generated by a turbine.
For more power industry CFD click here.