Browsing by Author "Nabavi,Seyed Ali"

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    Aerodynamic design optimization of large-scale offshore wind turbine blade using CFD
    (Cranfield University, 2022-05) Koragappa, Pavana; Verdin, Patrick G.; Nabavi,Seyed Ali
    Renewable energy is expected to be the main source of power by 2050, bringing an end to the use of fossil fuels; this is the only way to achieve Net Zero. Wind turbines which majorly contribute to this agenda, not only help to reduce CO₂ emission, they are also environmentally friendly and form a cost-effective solution. The aerodynamic study and design of a wind turbine blade is essential as it is directly linked to the performance of the wind turbine. The maximum power generating wind turbine currently operating is the Haliade-X (GE) turbine, which has set a trademark at producing 14 MW, 13 MW or 12 MW. However, a need for higher power generating wind turbines is present to be able to reach the Net Zero target. By upscaling the “DTU 10 MW Reference Wind Turbine” this research has achieved an aerodynamically stable 20 MW offshore wind turbine blade design. Variable rotation speed and variable pitch angle configurations have been considered to achieve an ideal power curve. The aerodynamic performance has been evaluated using CFD and quantified for a length optimized blade design. To ensure structural stability, chord and twist optimizations have also been performed. The chord and twist of the designed blade have been optimized through the momentum theory and the blade element theory. 2D numerical simulations on FFA- W3 aerofoils used in the design of the wind turbine blade have been carried out initially to determine the angle of attack at minimum C𝐷/C𝐿 ratios, which further helps to calculate the chord and twist of the blade. From the calculated value, a new design variant has been proposed and the aerodynamic performance has been evaluated using CFD.