In this thesis, the turbine blade design eligible for ocean current conditions is proposed using blade element momentum theory. in the beginning, the performance of water turbines is evaluated by CFD (computational fluid dynamics) package code, so as to design the suitable turbine under various conditions. The blade design encompasses parameters of the hydrofoil selection and blade shape which affect the turbine performance. Shortly following the investigation of the aforementioned parameters, the turbine¡¦s performance with radius of two meter is also studied. The current conditions include the yaw and the pitch angle of the turbine relative to the current flow direction, as well as the periodic flow conditions on the performance of the water turbine. Lastly, the electricity generation is estimated by the present device. The results show that hydrofoils with less changes in the angle of attack with respect to the lift-drag ratio help enhance the turbine¡¦s performance. The feedback mechanism is added to the blade design procedure to make sure that the turbine design caters to the best angle of attack. A turbine with two-meter radius can garner 34% of the sea current energy at most, living up to the project goal of exceeding the efficiency of 30%. The simulated test indicates that the adequate enlargement of the blade not only sustains the maximal efficiency, but it also lowers the stress imposed on the blade. Given the ocean current conditions, it is also shown that the turbine¡¦s efficiency is proportional to the cubic cosine incident angle of inflow velocity alongside with the enlargement of the turbine radius. When it comes to the current electricity generation, from the in-situ measurement data, the current maximal velocity near the sea region is around 1.3 m/s. If incorporated with the self excited induction generator with the efficiency of 55%, a one-meter-radius turbine is estimated to be able to generate 530W at most, while a two-meter-radius turbine is estimated to generate 2.5KW. However, the use of the permanent magnet generator can produce 45% more electricity than a self excited induction generator.

Nowadays, the climate change issue is becoming more and more actual in our society. Increase of the average temperature on Earth in a couple of degrees could have catastrophic consequences. One of the possible solutions seems to be renewable energy sources as photovoltaics, biomass of water and wind energy. This thesis deals with the aerodynamics problems of wind energy source. Wind turbines transform kinetic energy of wind to mechanical power. The efficiency is physically limited to 59,26 %, but in reality, it is getting around 45 %. This is caused by three biggest losses inducted in wind turbines as wake losses, losses due to finite number of blades and drag losses. Based on analytical relationships and including these three losses the aerodynamics blade design is conducted. Later, the numerical simulations show higher values of drag and lower values of lift force on airfoil compared to analytical calculation. In fact, percentage deviations are acceptable and to conclude, the numerical analysis was able to relatively accurately simulate force action of free stream velocity on the blade.

Tidal energy represents a promising resource for the future energy mix. For harnessing tidal currents free stream horizontal axis turbines have been investigated for some years. The acting physics is very similar to the one of horizontal axis wind turbines, with the additional phenomenon of cavitation, which causes performance reduction, flow induced noise and severe damages to the turbine blade and downstream structures. The paper presents an enhanced semi-analytical model that allows the prediction of the performance characteristics including cavitation inception of horizontal axis tidal turbines. A central component is the well-known blade element momentum theory which is refined by various submodels for hydrofoil section lift and drag as a function Reynolds number and angle of attack, turbine thrust coefficient, blade hub and tip losses and cavitation. Moreover, the model is validated by comparison with comprehensive experimental data from two different turbines. Predicted power and thrust coefficient characteristics were found to agree well with the experimental results for a wide operational range and different inflow velocities. Discrepancies were observed only at low tip speed ratios where major parts of the blades operate under stall conditions. The predicted critical cavitation number is somewhat larger than the measured, i.e. the prediction is conservative. As an overall conclusion the semi-analytical model developed seems to be so fast, accurate and robust that it can be integrated in a future workflow for optimizing tidal turbines.

An experimental study on the application of Digital Image Correlation (DIC) to measure the deformation and strain of rotating blades is described. Commercial DIC software was used to obtain measurements on three different types of rotors with diameter ranging from 18 to 39 and with varying flexibility to explore applicability of the technique over a breadth of scales. The image acquisition was synchronized with the frequency of rotation such that images could be obtained at the same phase and the consistency of measurements was observed. Bending and twist distributions were extracted from the data with deformation as high as 0.4 measured with a theoretical accuracy of 0.0038 and span-wise resolution of 0.066. The technique was demonstrated to have many advantages including full-field high resolution results, non-intrusive measurement, and good accuracy over a range of scales. The span-wise deformation profiles from the DIC technique are used in conjunction with Blade Element Momentum Theory to calculate the thrust and power consumed by the rotor with rigid vi blades; results are comparable to load cell measurements albeit thrust is somewhat under-predicted and power is over-predicted. Overall, the correlation between DIC calculated thrust and BEMT approximations for comparable blades with constant pitch were within 12% through the onset of stall. Measurement of flexible blade deformation that would not have been possible with other techniques demonstrated the utility of the DIC method and helped to confirm predictions of flexible blade behavior. / text

A wind turbine needs to be controlled to ensure its safe and optimal operation, especially during high wind speeds. The most common control objectives are to limit the power and rotational speed of the wind turbine by using pitch control. Aero Energy is a company based in Potchefstroom, South Africa, that has been developing and manufacturing wind turbine blades since 2000. Their most popular product is the AE1kW blades. The blades have a tendency to over-speed in high wind speeds and the cut-in wind speed must be improved. The objective of this study was to develop an active pitch control system for wind turbines. A prototype active pitch control system had to be developed for the AE1kW blades. The objectives of the control system are to protect the wind turbine from over-speeding and to improve start-up performance. An accurate model was firstly developed to predict a wind turbine’s performance with active pitch control. The active pitch control was implemented by means of a two-stage centrifugal governor. The governor uses negative or stalling pitch control. The first linear stage uses a soft spring to provide improved start-up performance. The second non-linear stage uses a hard spring to provide over-speed protection. The governor was manufactured and then tested with the AE1kW blades. The governor achieved both the control objectives of over-speed protection and improved start-up performance. The models were validated by the results. It was established that the two-stage centrifugal governor concept can be implemented on any wind turbine, provided the blades and tower are strong enough to handle the thrust forces associated with negative pitch control. It was recommended that an active pitch control system be developed that uses positive pitching for the over-speed protection, which will eliminate the large thrust forces. Keywords: pitch control, wind turbine, centrifugal governor, over-speed protection, cut-in wind speed, blade element-momentum theory, rotor, generator, stall, feathering. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

A wind turbine needs to be controlled to ensure its safe and optimal operation, especially during high wind speeds. The most common control objectives are to limit the power and rotational speed of the wind turbine by using pitch control. Aero Energy is a company based in Potchefstroom, South Africa, that has been developing and manufacturing wind turbine blades since 2000. Their most popular product is the AE1kW blades. The blades have a tendency to over-speed in high wind speeds and the cut-in wind speed must be improved. The objective of this study was to develop an active pitch control system for wind turbines. A prototype active pitch control system had to be developed for the AE1kW blades. The objectives of the control system are to protect the wind turbine from over-speeding and to improve start-up performance. An accurate model was firstly developed to predict a wind turbine’s performance with active pitch control. The active pitch control was implemented by means of a two-stage centrifugal governor. The governor uses negative or stalling pitch control. The first linear stage uses a soft spring to provide improved start-up performance. The second non-linear stage uses a hard spring to provide over-speed protection. The governor was manufactured and then tested with the AE1kW blades. The governor achieved both the control objectives of over-speed protection and improved start-up performance. The models were validated by the results. It was established that the two-stage centrifugal governor concept can be implemented on any wind turbine, provided the blades and tower are strong enough to handle the thrust forces associated with negative pitch control. It was recommended that an active pitch control system be developed that uses positive pitching for the over-speed protection, which will eliminate the large thrust forces. Keywords: pitch control, wind turbine, centrifugal governor, over-speed protection, cut-in wind speed, blade element-momentum theory, rotor, generator, stall, feathering. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

abstract: An airborne, tethered, multi-rotor wind turbine, effectively a rotorcraft kite, provides one platform for accessing the energy in high altitude winds. The craft is maintained at altitude by its rotors operating in autorotation, and its equilibrium attitude and dynamic performance are affected by the aerodynamic rotor forces, which in turn are affected by the orientation and motion of the craft. The aerodynamic performance of such rotors can vary significantly depending on orientation, influencing the efficiency of the system. This thesis analyzes the aerodynamic performance of an autorotating rotor through a range of angles of attack covering those experienced by a typical autogyro through that of a horizontal-axis wind turbine. To study the behavior of such rotors, an analytical model using the blade element theory coupled with momentum theory was developed. The model uses a rigid-rotor assumption and is nominally limited to cases of small induced inflow angle and constant induced velocity. The model allows for linear twist. In order to validate the model, several rotors -- off-the-shelf model-aircraft propellers -- were tested in a low speed wind tunnel. Custom built mounts allowed rotor angles of attack from 0 to 90 degrees in the test section, providing data for lift, drag, thrust, horizontal force, and angular velocity. Experimental results showed increasing thrust and angular velocity with rising pitch angles, whereas the in-plane horizontal force peaked and dropped after a certain value. The analytical results revealed a disagreement with the experimental trends, especially at high pitch angles. The discrepancy was attributed to the rotor operating in turbulent wake and vortex ring states at high pitch angles, where momentum theory has proven to be invalid. Also, aerodynamic design constants, which are not precisely known for the test propellers, have an underlying effect on the analytical model. The developments of the thesis suggest that a different analytical model may be needed for high rotor angles of attack. However, adding a term for resisting torque to the model gives analytical results that are similar to the experimental values. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Mechanical Engineering 2019

This thesis presents an aerodynamic shape optimization methodology for rotor blades of horizontal axis wind turbines. Genetic Algorithm and Blade Element Momentum Theory are implemented in order to find maximum power production at a specific wind speed, rotor speed and rotor diameter. The potential flow solver, XFOIL, provides viscous aerodynamic data of the airfoils. Optimization variables are selected as the sectional chord length, the sectional twist and the blade profiles at root, mid and tip regions of the blade. The blade sections are defined by the NACA four digit airfoil series or arbitrary airfoil profiles defined by a Bezier curve. Firstly, validation studies are performed with the airfoils and the wind turbines having experimental data. Then, optimization studies are performed on the existing wind turbines. Finally, design optimization applications are carried out for a 1 MWwind turbine.

This Master’s thesis focuses on the wind turbines. It describes the basic attributes of the wind energy and the wind potential of Slovak Republic, as well as the environmental impact of this sector. Meteorological data for the selected location are processed according to the Weibull distribution and they are used for the aerodynamic design of the wind turbine blades. Aerodynamic design is processed by using two methods. The first is the blade cascade theory, which is used to design prismatic and twist blades. The second method is called the blade element momentum, which is used to design wind turbine but only twist blades are designed by using this theory. Calculated aerodynamic shapes are compared and the best economic solution for the selected location is chosen.

This master‘s thesis focuses on wind turbines. The first part describes the basic attributes of wind energy and wind turbines and is accompanied by a many images. The next section is a statistical processing of measured meteorological data from measuring stations of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. These data are then used for calculations of the blades of wind turbines. The calculations are carried by two different methods. The first method is called the blade element momentum theory, the second method is the theory of blade cascade. Using these methods are obtained by two different blades. The last section compares the two blades in terms of geometric and performance.