WIND ENGINEERING VOLUME 28, NO.

3, 2004 PP 311323 311

Modelling Approaches for Flow Over a Wind
Turbine Blade
Richard Kramer
1
and Rosalind Archer
2
, University of Auckland
Department of Engineering Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland,
New Zealand
1
e-mail <rmjk@ihug.co.nz>
2
communicating author, email <r.archer@auckland.ac.nz>
ABSTRACT
This work models the aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine blade using
computational fluid dynamics and strip theory. The wind turbine blade design was supplied
by Twin Turbines Ltd. It is a constant tip-speed ratio design, using stall regulation for power
control in winds above the rated speed. The analysis uses the commercial computational
fluid dynamics program CFX-5. The software model of the wind turbine blade includes
rotation simulated using a rotating domain. The results from this model are compared to the
solutions obtained using the strip theory method for wind turbine performance analysis.
Finally, the stall regulation of the blade at high wind speeds is investigated, using both CFX
and the strip theory model. The results from the two methods show good agreement with
each other, and indicate that the regulation effect is likely to be smaller than had been
expected by the intended manufacturer, Twin Turbines Ltd.
Nomenclature (for symbols in doubt, please use symbol and name of symbol (eg omega, delta)
so we know what the symbol is, even if it is not transposed correctly. We can later remove the
names.)
a Axial induction factor (dimensionless)
a Rotational induction factor (dimensionless)
B Number of blades (dimensionless)
c Blade chord length (m)
C
L
2D lift coefficient (dimensionless)
C
D
2D drag coefficient (dimensionless)
C
t
local thrust coefficient (dimensionless)
F tip loss factor (dimensionless)
P Power (W)
r Local radius (m)
R
i
Blade root radius (m)
R
o
Blade tip radius (also given as R) (m)
t Section thickness relative to chord (dimensionless)
T Thrust force (N)
V
rel
Relative velocity (ms
1
)
V

Upstream wind speed (ms

1
)
x Velocity ratio (dimensionless)
Angle of attack (radians)
Section twist angle (radians)
Dissertation Paper
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 311
Angle of incident velocity relative to the blade plane (radians)
Density (kg m
3
)
Coning angle (radians)
Blade rotational speed (rad s
1
)
1. INTRODUCTION
The geometry of the wind turbine blade considered for this work was provided by Twin
Turbines Ltd., a local company. It is an experimental design that uses stall regulation as a
primary means for power control, and it is the behaviour of the blade as it stalls that is of
interest in this analysis. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is the primary means of
analysis, but for verification of the solution, an analytic strip theory method is also
implemented. The works aims were to:
Develop a computational model of the blade at the rated wind speed and compare
the results of this model to the expected performance.
Use the commercial computational fluid dynamics program CFX-5 for the first
analysis.
Compare the CFX solution to a second analysis, using the strip theory method.
Investigate the stall regulation effect at wind speeds above rated using both models.
1.1 The TT-6 Blade Design
The wind turbine blade used for this work was designed by Twin Turbines for the TT-6, a 10 kW-
rated direct-drive machine with a downstream 6 m-diameter rotor. It was designed using
a modified version of the Glauert optimum actuator disk theory (Heier, 1996, and Spera, 1994),
a simpler model than the strip theory that is used in this work. A prototype model of the
TT-6 rotor has not yet been built.
The TT-6 blades are principally stall regulated. They are designed to operate at a constant
tip speed ratio of 10 up to a wind speed of 7 ms
1
, when the maximum rotational speed of
223 rpm is reached. The electronic control system regulates the generator load to limit the
rotational speed to this value in winds with speed greater than 7 ms
1
, reaching its maximum
(rated) output at the rated wind speed of 12 ms
1
. With wind speeds greater than rated, the
generator output should remain nearly constant or decrease, with additional speed control
provided by tip plates that deploy if the rotational speed exceeds the allowable limit. As the
blade stalls, the torque input to the generator reduces, thus controlling its power output. The
stall regulation is compromised, though, by the need for the wind turbine to self-start at cut-in
(i.e. without external motoring up to speed).
2. THE STRIP METHOD OF WIND TURBINE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
Strip theory (Spera, 1994) considers the wind turbine as an airscrew, using methods originally
developed for the analysis of powered propellers suitably modified for application to the
analysis of wind turbine blades. It is also known as modified blade element theory, and builds
on blade element theory as applied to the Glauert optimum disk model. The strip method
is considered to be an adequate predictor of wind turbine performance, with the largest
source of error being airfoil lift and drag data used for the blade sections (Spera, 1994). Unlike
powered propeller blades, tip vortices from wind turbine blades are shed outwards so have
a small effect on the flow over the rotor disk, and do not cause significant deviation from
the theoretical flow assumed in this model.
312 MODELLING APPROACHES FOR FLOW OVER A WIND TURBINE BLADE
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 312
Strip theory assumes that individual streamlines can be analysed independently, which is
acceptable if the circulation distribution is approximately uniform over the blade and most
vorticity is shed at the root and tip, which is generally the case for a wind turbine blade.
It assumes that spanwise flow is negligible, so two-dimensional airfoil section data is valid.
Further, the theory will not predict spanwise flow, even if the coning angle is nonzero, which is
an acceptable approximation as long as the coning angle is small. The model also assumes
that flow conditions do not vary circumferentially, which implies that the wind speed is
uniform across the rotor disk.
The strip method analyses the flow in a uniform annular ring, centred on the axis of
rotation. It will be assumed that the blade is rotating at an angular velocity of rad s
1
. The
rotor rotational speed is largely governed by the generator load, which allows the rotor speed
to be considered as an independent parameter.
2.1 Mathematical Development of the Model
The strip theory analysis of a wind turbine rotor seeks the thrust force acting on the blade disk
in the axial direction (the wind direction). This considers first an elemental streamtube at a
radial distance r from the centre of rotation, with an area of 2rdr, on which a thrust increment
dT acts. The local thrust coefficient is then given by
(1)
and the total thrust on the rotor disk by
(2)
At this radius r, the velocity incident on the blade is as shown in Figure 1 (Spera, 1994). The
blade induces velocities in both the axial and rotational directions as a result of the
disturbance it causes in the flow, and the magnitude of its influence is described by an axial
factor, a, and a rotational factor, a. The thrust increment on the streamtube, for a B-bladed
rotor with chord c at the radius r is
(3)
where lift and drag coefficients are the sectional two-dimensional values for the airfoil at the
current radius. Combining eqns (1) and (3) gives an expression for the local thrust coefficient
in terms of the properties of the blade element
(4)
From the velocity triangle, where is the coning angle, the velocity ratio is equivalent to
(5)
V
V
a
rel

( ) 1
cos
sin

C
B c
r
V
V
C C
t L D

_
,

+ ( )

2
2

rel
cos sin
dT V Bc C C dr
L D
+ ( )
1
2
2

rel
cos sin
T dT
R
R
i
o

C
dT
V rdr
t

( )

1
2
2
2

WIND ENGINEERING VOLUME 28, NO. 3, 2004 313
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 313
which when substituted into eqn (4) gives
(6)
Again from the geometry of the velocity triangle of Figure 1,
(7)
where x is the local velocity ratio given by
(8)
The total induced velocity must be perpendicular to the relative incoming velocity, so also
(9)
Equating eqns (7) and (9) gives
(10)
A tip loss factor F accounts for the interaction of shed vorticity with the blades bound vorticity,
which slightly reduces the effectiveness of the blade. This factor is equivalent to a finite-span
correction of sectional lift and drag coefficients, but is designed specifically for the rotating
wing problem (Eggleston, 1987). The factor is defined as
(11)
where is the bound circulation of the rotor as .
Prandtls model for tip loss has been found to agree well with real data (Spera, 1994). In this
model, the vortex sheets generated by the blade are replaced with a series of parallel planes,
set at a uniform spacing z equal to the normal distance between successive vortex sheets at
B c , 0

+ ( ) ( ) a a x a a 1 1
2 2
cos
tan
cos cos

a r
aV
xa
a

x
r
V

tan
cos cos

( )
+ ( )

( )
+ ( )

V a
r a
a
x a
1
1
1
1
C
B c
r
a C C
t L D
( ) + ( )
2
1
2
2
2

cos
sin
cos sin
314 MODELLING APPROACHES FOR FLOW OVER A WIND TURBINE BLADE
(1 + a )r
V

rel
Frot
Fax
Blade
rotational
plane
Figure 1: Velocity diagram of the flow incident on a blade element, showing the forces on the blade element generated
by this flow in terms of rotational and axial components.
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 314
the slipstream boundary, or
(12)
where
R
is the angle between the relative wind vector and the plane of rotation at the tip.
This analysis gives a tip loss factor of
, (13)
which is simplified in practice, to avoid a potential tip singularity, to become
, (14)
which has been found to give good results in practice. The tip loss factor is applied to the local
thrust coefficient to modify the coefficient given by momentum theory:
(15)
Typically a
c
= 0.2 (Spera, 1994). This piecewise approximation is required to modify the overall
thrust coefficient C
T
as its value departs from 4a(1a) for a > 0.4. Cascade effects that account
for the influence of the blades on each other were ignored in this application of the model.
Equating the expressions for C
t
(eqns (6) and (15)) gives a piecewise equation in terms of
a and a only, which when simplified and expressed in terms of sin gives eqn (17). When
combined with equation 16, this gives a system of two nonlinear equations in two unknowns
(a and a, since all other parameters can be expressed as functions of these variables), which
is closed and can be solved numerically:
(16)
(17)
The velocity ratio x is as given before, and sin is defined by
(18) sin
cos

( )

V a
V
1
rel
for
0.2
a
B c
r
a C x a C a
a a
B R r
r
a
B c
r
a C x a C a
L D
L D

( ) + ( ) + ( ) ( )
( )
( )

_
,

_
,

>
( ) + ( ) + ( )

0 2
2
1 1 1
8
1
2
0
2
1 1 1
1
.
cos
sin
cos
cos exp
sin
,
cos
sin
cos

( )
+ ( )
( )

_
,

_
,

8
0 04 0 6
2
0
1
. . cos exp
sin
a
B R r
r

+ ( ) ( ) a a x a a 1 1 0
2 2
cos
C
aF a a a
F a a a a a
t
c
c c c

( )
+ ( ) ( )
>

4 1
4 1 2
2
,
,
F
B R r
r

( )

_
,

_
,

2
2
1

cos exp
sin
F
B R r
R
R

( )

_
,

_
,

2
2
1

cos exp
sin
z
R
B
R

2
sin
WIND ENGINEERING VOLUME 28, NO. 3, 2004 315
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 315
where
(19)
The lift and drag coefficients C
L
and C
D
are also related to a and a by the angle of attack ,
which is given by
(20)
where is the section twist angle, a parameter of the blade design. The thrust force generated
by the blade disk can now be evaluated from the integral eqn (2).
(21)
Substituting the thrust coefficient from eqn (6), and simplifying, gives
(22)
which describes the thrust force in terms of the local design parameters and induction factors,
which are dependent on radial position. The relative wind speed V
rel
is computed as shown in
equation 5.
The thrust integral, eqn (22), was evaluated numerically using a modified trapezoidal rule,
where the induction factors a and a were determined by solving eqns (16) and (17) at each
integration point.
2.2 Empirical Airfoil Lift and Drag Model
A simple piece-wise linear model was developed to approximate the lift and drag coefficients
for the airfoil sections of the wind turbine blade. This model is dependent on angle of attack
and section thickness only, and was empirically fitted to data given for the NACA 63-series
airfoils in Abbott (1959). The drag coefficient C
D
is given by:
If <
s
then
If C
L
< 4.33t 0.34 then
Else if C
L
< 1.316 1.8t then
Else
Else if < 0.133 then
C C
D D s
+ ( )
,
.
stall
1 43
C t t t t t
C t
D
L
+ + ( ) + ( ) ( )
+ + ( )
0 0035 0 0105 4 33 0 66 0 07 0 00154 1 656 6 13
0 027 1 316 1 8
. . . . . . . .
. . .
C t t t t C t
D L
+ + ( ) + ( ) + ( ) 0 0035 0 0105 4 33 0 66 0 07 0 00154 4 33 0 34 . . . . . . . .
C t C
D L
+ + ( ) 0 0035 0 0105 1 . .
T
B
V c aV C
r a
V a
C dr
L D
R
R
i
o
( )
+ ( )
( )
+

_
,

_
,

2
1
1
1

cos
cos
rel

T dT C V rdr
R
R
t
R
R
i
o
i
o



1
2
2
2




( )
+ ( )

_
,

tan
cos
1
1
1
a
x a
V V x a a
rel
+ ( ) + ( )

2
2 2
2
1 1 cos
316 MODELLING APPROACHES FOR FLOW OVER A WIND TURBINE BLADE
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 316
Else
and the lift coefficient C
L
by:
If <
s
then
Else if < 0.2 then
Else
For these models, the angle of attack at stall (
s
) was set to 14. The Vitterna-Corrigan
post-stall model (Spera, 1994, and Eggleston, 1987) was considered, but not applied. This model
was developed empirically to stop the output increasing post-stall for a blade of zero twist, and
includes a finite-span drag correction. Neither assumption applies here: the blade is twisted,
and a tip correction factor was used in preference to a finite-span lift and drag model.
2.3 Numerical Issues Arising from the Model
Although the tip factor correction used the modified form of Prandtls model (equation 14), the
gradient of equation 17 will still tend to infinity as . As both Newtons method and the
quasi-Newton method depend on gradients for convergence, both failed to converge at the tip
station as the elements of the tangent matrix became very large. Analysis of the solutions as
showed a increasing towards 1, which implies an induced velocity exactly opposing the
oncoming wind. This is not physically reasonable, and a physical analysis of the problem
shows that the effect seen is the result of the discontinuity at the edge of the streamtube
enclosing the rotor disk where the airspeed returns to its free-stream value. For this reason,
a solution was specified that enforces compatibility with the free-stream flow by making a = 0
and a = 0 at the tip.
2.4 Results
Table 1 shows the results produced by the strip theory model. The thrust force is the total force
on the blade disk, and the power output is calculated from this force by
(23)
where is the averaged induction factor given in the table, calculated by
(24)
where a(r) is the local axial induction factor at radius r, and R
o
is the tip radius and R
i
the root
radius of the blade.
It should be noted that the length of the blade was designed to produce an output of 10 kW
at its rated speed of 12 ms
1
, which would correspond to a thrust force of approximately 1160 N.
a
R R
a r dr
o i
R
R
i
o

1
( )
a
P T a V ( )

1
r R
r R
C t
L s
+ ( ) ( ) 2 9 1 795 1 146 0 2 0 859 0 2 . . . . . .
C t
L s
+ ( ) 2 9 1 795 1 146 . . .
C
C t
t
L
L

< +
+

6 59 2 9 1 795
2 9 1 795
. , . .
. . ,

otherwise
where
stall
C t t t t
t t
D,
. . . . . .
. . . . .
+ + ( ) + ( )
( ) + + ( )
0 0035 0 0105 4 33 0 66 0 07 0 00154
1 656 6 13 0 027 0 479 1 1
C C
D D s s
+ ( ) + ( )
,
. . .
stall
1 43 0 133 1 146
WIND ENGINEERING VOLUME 28, NO. 3, 2004 317
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 317
It is also immediately apparent from Table 1 that the thrust force and power output continue
increasing, albeit at a decreasing rate, in wind speeds above rated.
Figure 2 shows a plot of the local induction factor against (normalised) radius for the TT-6
blade. A comparison between this plot and an equivalent plot in Spera (1994) shows some
agreement for r/R < 0.5, but divergence in the solutions as . However, Speras
experimental results support the previous assumption that the induction factor should be zero
at the tip. It is likely that the lack of agreement for r/R > 0.5 is in part related to the numerical
problems encountered with the implementation as . Differences in the blade designs
will also be responsible for some discrepancy between the plots, particularly when the
unusual tip configuration of the TT-6 blade is considered.
The greatest source of error in the strip theory solutions will be the empirical airfoil lift and
drag model used. The empirical model used was taken from experimental data for 63-series
sections at a Reynolds number of 3 million. Local Reynolds numbers at the blade surface are
likely to be considerably less than this: at a wind speed of 7 ms
1
, the Reynolds number ranges
from as small as 250,000 at the root to 1 million at the tip. Stall characteristics tend to be most
dependent on Reynolds number, so this model is likely to introduce a considerable error as
stalling occurs, particularly near the root. Also, data was available only for sections of
between 12% and 21% thickness. The accuracy of the lift and drag data for sections with
a thickness interpolated within these limits should be adequate, but half of the blade has a
thickness exceeding 21% of the local chord, and the reliability of a linear extrapolation to
30%thickness is not known.
3. COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS MODEL
CFX-5.6 is a commercial three-dimensional fluid modelling package and was used to model
flow over the TT-6 blade. The geometry of the wind turbine blade was created using the
methods described in Abbott (1959). Twin Turbines provided the section thickness, chord,
r R
r R
318 MODELLING APPROACHES FOR FLOW OVER A WIND TURBINE BLADE
Table 1. Summary of results from the strip theory model
Wind Speed Thrust Force Induction Factor Power Output
7 ms
1
726 N 0.309 3.5 kW
10 ms
1
1158 N 0.234 8.9 kW
12 ms
1
1416 N 0.194 13.7 kW
13 ms
1
1531 N 0.178 16.4 kW
16 ms
1
1821 N 0.140 25.0 kW
20 ms
1
2090 N 0.108 37.3 kW
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
r/R
A
x
i
a
l

i
n
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

f
a
c
t
o
r
,

a
Figure 2: The local axial induction factor calculated by strip theory for the TT-6 wind turbine plotted against
normalised blade radius, at a wind speed of 7 ms
1
.
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 318
twist angle and radial position for each of the twelve design stations of the TT-6 blade. This
data was input into an Excel spreadsheet where the surface ordinates for each section were
calculated and transformed to coordinates relative to the section aerodynamic centre at the
quarter-chord point. These were output to a set of text files defining free points through which
curves defining the airfoil sections were drawn. The blade surface was created by lofting
surfaces between the airfoil profiles at neighbouring stations.
A validation study was performed to ensure a CFX model could accurately simulate two-
dimensional flow over an airfoil, producing lift and drag forces consistent with published data
for the section. It also provided an opportunity to investigate the effect on the solution
accuracy of different CFX model parameters, for a problem where comparison could be made
to a true solution. A NACA 63
2
-015 airfoil was used because the blade design uses the NACA
63-series family of airfoil sections, and data is widely available for the 15% thickness (Abbott,
1959, and Riegels, 1961).
The domain designed for this problem of flow over the wind turbine blade attempted to
balance the needs for it to be sufficiently large to model the flow accurately while being small
enough to be meshed effectively within the constraints of the memory available. The realistic
maximum number of volume elements for the domain was around 1 million. To allow for mesh
refinement, though, a target of around 600,000 elements was set for the domain with a coarser
mesh.
To simulate the blade rotation, a rotating domain is used, shown in Figure 3. This ensures
that the air speed incident at the blade will be correct, without the imposition of a boundary
condition approximation of a radially varying flow. In the same way that a CFD model of a
moving wing in a stationary flow places a stationary wing in a moving flow, so the stationary
blade is placed in a rotating mass of air. This requires that the domain rotate in the opposite
direction to the true blade rotation so the relative motion is correct. The result of this is that the
flow will be modelled accurately in the region of the blade, but the state of a particle
downstream of the blade disk in the simulated flow will be different from the state of the same
particle in the real flow.
The domain is orientated such that it rotates about the global y-axis. The blade span is in
the positive z-direction. The overall shape of the domain is approximately semi-cylindrical,
with the rotation about the vertical axis of the cylinder and with a region of radius 400 mm
removed between the axis and the blade root. A periodic boundary condition links the two cut
faces of the resulting annulus, allowing only a single blade to be used to model the rotor.
By creating the interface surfaces as a periodic pair, the meshes on each surface are identical,
WIND ENGINEERING VOLUME 28, NO. 3, 2004 319
Inlet Outlet
domain
rotation
Blade
z
y
2.5R 1R
Figure 3: Layout of the rotating domain for the wind turbine blade model, showing the blade in the vertical position,
with the wind direction parallel to the y-direction.
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 319
so a one-to-one rotational periodic connection could be made. This connection is preferable to
the alternative GGI (General Grid Interface) method, which is more computationally
expensive and less accurate (CFX, 2003).
An inlet region of radius 3.5 m, one blade length (3 m) upstream of the blade, has the
uniform upstream wind boundary condition applied to it. The outlet, 2.5 blade lengths (7.5 m)
downstream, had a larger radius of 4.5 m, which was based on the result from momentum
theory that the far-downstream area of the streamtube enclosing the turbine is twice the rotor
swept area. The outer shroud surface of the domain was modelled as a free-slip wall, after
experimentation with different outlet and opening configurations. The disadvantage with a
wall condition is that it presents an obstacle to the fluid motion that does not exist in reality,
though it is an acceptable assumption if the flow stays entirely within the streamtube, which
should be valid as long as the flow around the blade tips and downstream of the blade is
relatively stable. Outlet and opening boundary conditions tended to divert flow from the
upstream outlet (blocking it in the process) and produced poor convergence behaviour, so the
wall condition was the preferred compromise.
The surfaces of the inner hub region were also modelled as free-slip walls. This is more
easily justifiable, because there is unlikely to be significant flow from the blade root towards
the hub. The inner part of the domain annulus is not semicircular, but is made up of three linear
segments such that the root section lies on a flat surface. This was done to prevent fluid flow
over the blade root surface, which was considered the best compromise since the actual blade
to hub connection is not modelled. The flow in the hub region is complicated in reality by the
presence of the generator, as it is a downwind machine, but in the interests of simplicity, this
effect was ignored.
The mesh used for the baseline model was based on the experience gained from the
validation problem. It used the default mesh generator with a maximum element length of
220 mm, equal to the chord length at the blade tip. Relative-error surface mesh-spacing was
used, with a target of 20 edges per circumference and a minimum edge length of 6 mm.
Asurface mesh control was applied to the blade surface, with an edge length of 20 mm. This
gave a mesh with 645,771 volume elements with 117,229 solution nodes. For convergence
testing, a 25% mesh refinement was applied, with a 165 mm edge length and a 15 mm maximum
surface edge length, giving 1,073,092 elements with 194,627 nodes.
The rotating domain model was run with four upstream wind conditions: 7, 10, 13, 16 and
20 ms
1
. The rotational speed of the domain was 23.33 rad s
1
for every case. The thrust force
acting on the blade disk was taken from the force acting on the blade in the y-direction given
in the output report but doubled to account for the second blade. The solver convergence
control ensured that the momentum imbalance was considerably less than 1% in the
y-direction for every case, and the better conditioning of the wind turbine problem (compared
to the validation problem) ensured that the balance error was at least two orders of
magnitude less than the force of interest. Table 2 gives the results from each CFX run, with
strip theory results also shown for comparison.
To test convergence, the models with wind speeds of 7 ms
1
and 16 ms
1
were also run with
a refined mesh. These runs gave sufficient evidence to suggest that the solutions were at or
close to convergence, as Table 3 shows. The solution at 7 ms
1
can be said to be mesh
independent, while at 16 ms
1
the proximity of the solutions indicate that it is close to
convergence. The fluid flow is more complicated at the higher wind speed, as a significant
length of the blade will be stalled, and evidence from the flow visualisation suggests that the
difference between the solutions is principally due to a difference in the predicted extent of
stalled flow on the blade. As can be seen from Figure 4, which shows velocity vectors at the
320 MODELLING APPROACHES FOR FLOW OVER A WIND TURBINE BLADE
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 320
blade trailing edge at a radial distance of 1.2 m, the coarse mesh predicts flow separation at this
location but the fine mesh does not. Stall begins at the blade root, so this result indicates that
the predicted extent of the stalled region is greater on the coarse mesh, which is consistent
with the smaller force returned. The force difference is less than 5%, though, so this effect is not
so large as to invalidate the results from the other runs performed with the coarse mesh.
4. DISCUSSION
An agreement between the strip theory solution and the CFD solution is a good indicator that
the correct solution has been obtained. The assumptions underpinning each model are very
different: strip theory is based on two-dimensional empirical airfoil data, with idealised
assumptions of the flow around the blade, whereas CFX solves the governing flow equations
blindly for the geometry it is given. The conclusion that the actual behaviour of the blade is
being accurately modelled can therefore be stated with some confidence, as the results do
show good agreement within about 15%. This is shown graphically by Figure 5.
The empirical strip theory model makes no attempt to compensate for radial effects,
though it is known that a spanwise flow (which was observed in the CFX solution), caused by
the rotation of the blades, tends to delay stall at the blade root and promote it near the tip
(Spera, 1994). An empirical approximation of this effect was not attempted, though, due to a
lack of suitable experimental data for any comparable wind turbine. Other experimental data
has indicated that the maximum lift coefficient at the root can be greater than 2.0, while that
at the tip could be as low as 0.5 (Graham, 1993). This effect cannot be directly investigated in
the CFX solution, except to compare the locations of stall predicted by each method, which
does indicate qualitatively that it is occurring as expected.
It is clear from the results of both CFX and strip theory that the stall regulation of the wind
turbine output is not occurring as extensively as expected. The rated output of the TT-6
machine is intended to be 10 kW at a wind speed of 12 ms
1
, but, as shown in Table 1, the output
predicted by strip theory is nearly 14 kW. Figure 5 shows that the thrust force continues to
increase with wind speed, albeit at a reducing rate. If this was allowed to occur in a real
machine, the generator could quickly become overloaded.
The solution may be as simple as reducing the maximum rotational speed of the wind
turbine. The models run for this work assumed that the generator would hold the rotational
speed to its maximum value of 23.33 rad s
1
. However, when the strip theory model was run
with a rotational speed half of this, at a wind speed of 16 ms
1
the power output was a little less
WIND ENGINEERING VOLUME 28, NO. 3, 2004 321
Table 2. Comparison of rotor thrust force results from CFX and strip theory
Wind Speed CFX Strip theory Difference
7 ms
1
880 N 726 N 17.5 %
10 ms
1
1348 N 1158 N 14.1 %
13 ms
1
1752 N 1531 N 12.6 %
16 ms
1
2091 N 1821 N 12.9 %
20 ms
1
2309 N 2090 N 9.5 %
Table 3. Comparison of the coarse mesh and the fine mesh solutions at 7 and 16 ms
1
Wind Speed Coarse Mesh Fine Mesh Difference
7 ms
1
879.6 N 880.4 N 0.091%
16 ms
1
2091.4 N 2194.1 N 4.911%
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 321
than 10 kW. A more detailed exploration of the effect of rotational speed on the rotor
performance would be required to properly describe this effect. This issue is complicated by
the role of the generator in the control of the rotational speed of the turbine, and is beyond the
scope of this work. Subsequent modifications by Twin Turbines of the blade design used in this
work have already explored a change of this nature, and are showing encouraging results.
Wind turbine blade design is a complex problem: in addition to the regulation issues
considered here, the TT-6 blade has to be designed so that it will self-start at the cut-in wind
speed. This imposes constraints on the tip configuration that are in conflict with the
aerodynamic requirements for stall regulation at higher wind speeds. The design problem is
also made difficult by the lack of published data describing airfoil performance at high angles
of attack and low Reynolds numbers, probably because there is little need for this information
in the aeronautical fields that use the same airfoils. The problem is then further complicated
by three-dimensional effects unique to wind turbines that occur during stall. CFD is potentially
a very useful tool in this area, as it is relatively free of the restrictive assumptions of the
various models that have been developed in the past.
322 MODELLING APPROACHES FOR FLOW OVER A WIND TURBINE BLADE
Figure 4: Velocity vectors at a radius of 1.2 m for the coarse mesh (left), showing separated flow, and the fine mesh
(right), where the flow remains attached at the trailing edge.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Wind speed (ms
1
)
T
h
r
u
s
t

f
o
r
c
e

(
N
)
CFD
Strip theory
Figure 5: A plot of rotor disk thrust force against wind speed, comparing CFX and strip theory results over the range
of wind speeds tested.
WE_28(3)-Paper-6 26-7-04 1:04 pm Page 322
5. CONCLUSION
This work compared CFD and strip theory approaches for modelling flow over a wind turbine
blade. The value of the CFD solution over the analytic strip theory method appears when the
problem becomes difficult and the assumptions made by the analytic method start to break
down. The stall problem considered in this project is an example: there were three-
dimensional effects observed in the CFX solution that could not be modelled by strip theory.
The results from the CFX model of the wind turbine blade found that the stall regulation effect
was not occurring to the extent expected. Preliminary mesh convergence analysis supported
the results obtained with the initial mesh, though agreement was better at the lower wind
speed where flow separation was less extensive. The CFX results corresponded well with the
solutions from the strip theory analysis, differences reflecting the extent of flow separation
predicted by each method at a particular wind speed. Both tools clearly have a useful role in
design of wind turbine blades.
6. REFERENCES
1. Heier, S., Grid Integration of Wind Energy Conversion Systems, Wiley, Chichester, 1996.
2. Spera, D.A., ed., Wind Turbine Technology: Fundamental Concepts of Wind Turbine
Engineering, ASME Press, New York, 1994.
3. Eggleston, D.M. and Stoddard, F.S., Wind Turbine Engineering Design, Van Nostrand
Reinhold, New York, 1987.
4. Abbott, I.H. and von Doenhoff, A.E., Theory of Wing Sections, Dover, New York, 1959.
5. Riegels, F.W., Aerofoil Sections: Results from Wind-Tunnel Investigations, Theoretical
Foundations, Butterworth, London, 1961.
6. CFX Limited, CFX-5.6 Reference Manual, ANSYS, 2003.
7. Graham, J.M.R. and Brown, C.J., Measurement of Stall Delay on a Model of a Stall
Controlled Rotor, Proceedings of the Fifteenth BWEA Wind Energy Conference, Wind
Energy Conversion 1993, Mechanical Engineering Publications, London, 1993.
WIND ENGINEERING VOLUME 28, NO. 3, 2004 323
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