QBlade: OpenSource Horizontal and Vertical Axis Wind TurbineDesign and Simulation

D. Marten J. Wendler G.Pechlivanoglou C.N. Nayeri C.O. Paschereit

H.F.I / ISTA TU Berlin - Chair ofFluid Dynamics - Mueller Breslau str. 8, D-10623, Berlin

List of contributors to the QBlade project:

Jul iane Wendler, TU Berl in

Guido Weinzierl , TEMBRA

George Pechlivanoglou, TU Berl in / SMART BLADE

David Marten, TU BERLIN

QBlade

- Open source wind turbine calculation software,distributed under the GPL. The software is seamlesslyintegrated with the XFOIL airfoi l design and analysis

- The integration of a sophisticated user interface makesthis software accessible to many more interestedpeople than the usual command line interface softwaretools.

- The software is especial ly adequate for teaching HAWTand VAWT rotor design and aerodynamics.

- QBlade includes user friendly post processingcapabil ities as well as advanced import & exportfunctionality.

- The resulting software is a very flexible and user-friendly platform for wind turbine blade design. I t alsoacts as a modular system for future implementationsthat can exploit the possibi l ities that a combinationof manual and parametric airfoi l design and analysiscoupled with a blade design and simulation tool offers.

VAWT analysis - Theoretical background

The VAWT analysis is based onthe double-multiple-streamtubealgorithm after Paraschivoiu(DMST) [2]. Because the airflowpasses the rotor two times perrotation, a VAWT can be idealized

as two HAWT's in a row. The blade forces haveto be equated with the thrust force from themomentum balance over two ideal rotordiscs.One balancing is performed for the upwind halfand the other for the downwind half of onerotation of the blade.

HAWT analysis - Theoretical background

The HAWT analysis is based onthe standard Blade ElementMomentum Method (BEM) [1 ].The BEM equates blade forceswith thrust force obtained fromthe momentum balance over anideal rotor disc. The generated

set of equations can then be solved iteratively.Numerous empirical correction algorithms, thataccount for losses, three dimensional andReynolds number effects can be applied to asimulation by means of user-defined options.

Distribution

QBlade is distributed freely under the GPLsoftware l icense and is compiled for Windows,Linux and MacOS. The software can either beobtained from sourceforge.net/projects/qbladeor qblade.de.to

Downloads

Since the software distribution started in June201 0, QBlade has been downloaded more than20.000 times by researchers, students andpeople interested in wind turbine design from allover the world.

Validation

Being applied for wind turbine designs and simulations byuniversities and research institutes around the worldQBlade has been validated against numerous commercialand established wind turbine simulation codes [3] [4] [5] [6] [7].

References:[1 ] HANSEN, M.O.L. : Aerodynamics ofWind Turbines, Earthscan, London, 2008[2] PARASCHIVOIU, I . : Wind Turbine Design – With Emphasis on Darrieus Concept, Presses Internationales Polytechnique, Canada, 2002[3] SOLAND, T. : Investigation ofDifferent Airfoils on Outer Sections ofLarge Rotor Blades, Bachelor sign Validation To[4] MARTEN, D. : Integration ofa WTBlade Design Tool in XFOIL/XFLR5, Proceedings of the DEWEK 201 0, Bremen, Germany, 201[5] WIDJANARKO, S. : Steady Blade Element Momentum Code forWind Turbine Design Validation Tool, Internship Vestas, 201 0[6] MARTEN, D. : Extension ofan Aerodynamic Simulator forWind Turbine Blade Design and Performance Analysis, Diploma Thesis, TU Berl in, 201 0[7] WENDLER, J. : Erweiterung einerSimulationssoftware umModule zuraerodynamischen Auslegung undLeistungsberechnung vertikalachsiger

Windenergieanlagen, Bachelor Thesis, TU Berl in, 201 2

360° Polar extrapolation wind turbine blade and rotor designairfoil analysis

wind turbine definition and simulation

Airfoil Design- Design of custom airfoi ls using splines or airfoi l mixing .

- Airfoi l import, NACA 4- and 5-digit airfoi l generator.- Inverse design from a specified velocity distributions .

Airfoil Analysis- Computation of airfoi l coefficients employing theviscous-inviscid XFOIL panel method for angles ofattack up to stal l (or sl ightly beyond) .

- Visual ization of pressure distribution and boundarylayer.

Polar Extrapolation- Extrapolation of XFOIL generated or imported polarsover a range of 360° angle of attack usingMontgomerie or Viterna algorithms .

Blade Design- Advanced design of vertical and horizontal axis windturbine blades .

- Blade geometry export functionality.

Wind Turbine Simulation- Selection of turbine type, transmission and control .- User defined correction-algorithms and simulationparameters .

- Detai led presentation of simulation results in morethan 30 variables, computation of annual yield forvarious windspeed distributions

- Export functionality of al l simulation results

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