2011fall T2 WingletsforWindTurbineRotorBlades

EML 4905 SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT
A B.S. THESIS PREPARED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Winglet Design and Analysis for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades 100% Report
Rinaldo Gonzalez Galdamez Diego Moreno Ferguson Juancarlo Rodriguez Gutierrez Advisor: Professor George Dulikravich Professor Igor Tsukanov
November 30, 2011
This B.S. thesis is written in partial fulfillment of the requirements in EML 4905. The contents represent the opinion of the authors and not the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez
Ethics Statement and Signatures

The work submitted in this B.S. thesis is solely prepared by a team consisting of RINALDO GONZALEZ GALDAMEZ, DIEGO MORENO FERGUSON, and JUANCARLO RODRIGUEZ GUTIERREZ and it is original. Excerpts from others work have been clearly identified, their work acknowledged within the text and listed in the list of references. All of the engineering drawings, computer programs, formulations, design work, prototype development and testing reported in this document are also original and prepared by the same team of students.
Rinaldo Gonzalez Galdamez Team Member
Diego Moreno Ferguson Team Member
Juancarlo Rodriguez Gutierrez Team Member
Dr. George Dulikravich Faculty Advisor
Dr. Igor Tsukanov Faculty Advisor
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................... 11 1.2 Motivation ...................................................................................................................... 12 1.3 Literature Survey ............................................................................................................ 12 1.3.1 Introduction to Wind Turbines................................................................................ 12 1.3.2 Modern Wind Turbine Design ................................................................................ 17 1.3.3 Wind turbine aerodynamics .................................................................................... 20 1.3.4 Wind turbine loads and structure ............................................................................ 37 Conceptual design ................................................................................................................. 45 2.1 Winglet design................................................................................................................ 45 2.2 Airfoils and blade geometry ........................................................................................... 47 Design components ............................................................................................................... 50 3.1 Theoretical Design ......................................................................................................... 51 3.1.1 Blade pitch angle..................................................................................................... 51 3.1.2 Blade twist angle ..................................................................................................... 51 3.1.3 Chord distribution ................................................................................................... 51 3.2 Proposed Initial Design .................................................................................................. 51 Final Design .......................................................................................................................... 63 4.1 Blade Design with Winglet ............................................................................................ 63 4.1.1 Sizing and parameters ............................................................................................. 63 4.2 Parameterization of Design ............................................................................................ 63 4.2.1 Cant angle ............................................................................................................... 63 4.2.2 Radius (Percentage of Height) ................................................................................ 64 4.2.3 Height ...................................................................................................................... 64 4.2.4 Randomization of Geometries ................................................................................ 64 4.3 Final CAD design ........................................................................................................... 65 4.4 Winglet Implementation................................................................................................. 69 CFD simulations ................................................................................................................... 72 5.1 CFD modeling and setup in ANSYS Fluent .................................................................. 72 5.1.1 Pre-processing ......................................................................................................... 72 5.1.2 Domain decomposition ........................................................................................... 74 5.1.3 Boundary conditions ............................................................................................... 76 5.1.4 Turbulence modeling .............................................................................................. 77 5.1.5 Results of CFD simulations .................................................................................... 79 Timeline and Team Responsibilities..................................................................................... 92 Prototype, Testing and Cost Analysis ................................................................................... 94 7.1 Wind tunnel testing ........................................................................................................ 94 7.1.1 Calculation of parameters and scaling for wind tunnel testing ............................... 96 Page | 3
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez 7.2 Materials ......................................................................................................................... 97 7.3 Prototype Design ............................................................................................................ 99 7.4 Prototype Assembly Costs ........................................................................................... 103 7.5 FEA study for prototype prior to wind tunnel testing .................................................. 104 7.5.1 FEA Results .......................................................................................................... 110 7.6 Test Results .................................................................................................................. 116 8 Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................... 118 9 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 119 References ................................................................................................................................... 120 Appendix A: Technical Drawings for Wind Turbine ................................................................. 122 Appendix B: Vestas V39 Technical specifications ..................................................................... 123 Appendix C: Material and Supplies Quotes................................................................................ 124 Appendix D: Technical Drawings for Prototype ........................................................................ 125 Appendix E: Data from Testing .................................................................................................. 126 Results for test with winglets .................................................................................................. 126 Results for test without winglets ............................................................................................. 127
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Table of Figures
Figure 1: Vortices created for airplane wings with and without winglets[3] ............................... 11 Figure 2: Smith-Putnam Wind Turbine[12].................................................................................. 13 Figure 3: Gedser Wind Turbine (Johannes Juul and the Vester Egesborg Turbines)[13] ............ 13 Figure 4: (a) NASA MOD-0 Turbine, (b) Boeing MOD-5B Turbine[14] ................................... 14 Figure 5: Budget history for the DOE Wind Power Program. Source: DOE-EERE.[16] ............ 14 Figure 6: Budget breakdown for DOE Wind Power Program udget FY2010.[16] ...................... 15 Figure 7: Current installed power capacity (MW). Source: DOE-EERE[17] .............................. 15 Figure 8: System integration for wind power plan 2030. Source: DOE-EERE [1]. ..................... 16 Figure 9: Projected installed capacity by state for 2030. Source: DOE-EERE [1]....................... 16 Figure 10: Offshore wind turbines (REpower M5 turbines)[18] .................................................. 17 Figure 11: (a) Components of a horizontal axis wind turbine, (b) Detailed view of components. Source: DOE-EERE.[19],[20]. ..................................................................................................... 18 Figure 12: Gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly being installed in a horizontal axis wind turbine[18]..................................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 13: Actuator Disc Concept[11].......................................................................................... 20 Figure 14: Stream tube defined by actuator disc[11] .................................................................... 21 Figure 15: Coefficients of Power and Thrust vs. Axial Induction Factor ..................................... 23 Figure 16: Path of a particle of air traveling through the rotor disc, subject to tangential moment[11] ................................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 17: Development of tangential velocity in rotor disc (Thickness)[11].............................. 24 Figure 18: Blade Element Velocities and Forces [11] .................................................................. 26 Figure 19: Power Coefficient vs. Tip Speed Ratio[11]................................................................. 29 Figure 20: Span-wise Variation of the Blade Geometry Parameter with and without Drag[11] .. 31 Figure 21: Variation of Inflow Angle with Local Speed Ratio with and without Drag[11] ......... 31 Figure 22: The Variation of Coefficient of Power with Design Tip Speed Ratios[11] ................ 32 Figure 23: Helical Trailing Tip Vortices[11] ................................................................................ 33 Figure 24: A helicoidal Vortex Sheet[11]..................................................................................... 34 Figure 25: Variation of Coefficient of Power with Design Tip Speed Ratios for Various L/D ratios[11] ....................................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 26: Separated Flow Pressure Distribution Around a Cylinder[11] ................................... 36 Figure 27: Components of a blade[10] ......................................................................................... 38 Figure 28: Structural parameters for a cross section of the blade. Reproduced from [10]. .......... 38 Figure 29: Blade section and reference axes. Reproduced from [10]. .......................................... 39 Figure 30: Cantilever beam analysis. Reproduced from [10]. ...................................................... 40 Figure 31: Loading caused by the Earth's Gravitational Field[10] ............................................... 42 Figure 32: Loading caused by Braking the Rotor[10] .................................................................. 43 Figure 33: Effect of coning the rotor[10]...................................................................................... 44 Figure 34: Parameters describing winglet geometry [6]. .............................................................. 45 Page | 5
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Figure 35: Winglets with different curvature radius [7] ............................................................... 46 Figure 36: Winglets with different sweep angles [7] .................................................................... 47 Figure 37: Winglets with different height [7] ............................................................................... 47 Figure 38: Blade profiles from NACA 63-430 and FFA-W3-301[9]. .......................................... 48 Figure 39: NREL airfoils for small sized blades[22] .................................................................... 49 Figure 40: NREL airfoils for medium sized blades[22] ............................................................... 49 Figure 41: NREL airfoil family for large blades[22] .................................................................... 52 Figure 42: Airfoil configuration plotted in Qblade ....................................................................... 52 Figure 43: Design of the blade in Qblade ..................................................................................... 55 Figure 44: Plot of Coefficient of Lift (Cl) vs. Angle of Attack (alpha) ........................................ 55 Figure 45: Plot of Coefficient of Lift (Cl) vs. Coefficient of Drag (Cd) ...................................... 56 Figure 46: Plot of Cl/Cd vs. Angle of Attack (alpha) ................................................................... 56 Figure 47: Plot of Twist angle vs. Blade length............................................................................ 57 Figure 48:Front view of blade without winglet ............................................................................ 57 Figure 49: Isometric view of blade without winglet ..................................................................... 58 Figure 50: Side view of blade without winglet ............................................................................. 58 Figure 51: Winglet, view 1 ........................................................................................................... 59 Figure 52: Winglet, view 2 ........................................................................................................... 59 Figure 53: Blade with winglet....................................................................................................... 60 Figure 54: Blade with winglet, isometric view ............................................................................. 60 Figure 55: Isometric view of nacelle ............................................................................................ 61 Figure 56: Nacelle ......................................................................................................................... 61 Figure 57: Isometric view of blade-nacelle assembly................................................................... 62 Figure 58: Nacelle with three blades assembly............................................................................. 62 Figure 59: Parameterization of winglet design ............................................................................. 64 Figure 60: Final Blade with Stations ............................................................................................ 66 Figure 61: Inserting Curves in SolidWorks .................................................................................. 66 Figure 62: Curves in SolidWorks Front View .............................................................................. 67 Figure 63: Curves in SolidWorks Isometric View ........................................................................ 67 Figure 64: Loft of curves in SolidWorks ...................................................................................... 68 Figure 65: Finalized Blade ............................................................................................................ 68 Figure 66: Parameterization in SolidWorks .................................................................................. 69 Figure 67: Equations set for parameterization of winglet ............................................................. 69 Figure 68: Final Winglet Design................................................................................................... 70 Figure 69: Winglet geometry parameterized in SolidWorks ........................................................ 70 Figure 70: Blade final design with winglet isometric view .......................................................... 71 Figure 71: Blade with winglet mounted on one third hub ............................................................ 71 Figure 72: Airfoil twist for blade geometry .................................................................................. 72 Figure 73: ANSYS Workbench project outline ............................................................................ 72 Figure 74: ANSYS DesignModeler .............................................................................................. 73 Page | 6
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Figure 75: Named selections for left and right sides of the domain ............................................. 74 Figure 76: Inlet and Outlet named selections ............................................................................... 75 Figure 77: Wall blade named selections ....................................................................................... 75 Figure 78: Boundary conditions implemented in ANSYS Meshing as named selections ............ 76 Figure 79: Use of Periodic Boundaries to Define Swirling Flow in a Cylindrical Vessel ........... 77 Figure 80: Plot for residuals .......................................................................................................... 79 Figure 81: Statistics on parallel computations .............................................................................. 80 Figure 82: Pressure contour plot on back of blade ....................................................................... 81 Figure 83: Pressure contour plot in front of blade ........................................................................ 82 Figure 84: Flow field for entire wind turbine ............................................................................... 82 Figure 85: Vector plot around tip of blade without winglet showing vortices ............................. 83 Figure 86: Symmetric flow conditions for all three blades........................................................... 84 Figure 87: Pressure contour in front of blade ............................................................................ 85 Figure 88: Pressure contour for the back of the blade .................................................................. 85 Figure 89: Pressure contour on leading edge of blade .................................................................. 86 Figure 90: Pressure contour on proximity to winglet ................................................................... 86 Figure 91: Pressure contour .......................................................................................................... 87 Figure 92: Velocity contour plot behind blade ............................................................................. 87 Figure 93: Velocity contour plot behind blades using symmetry planes ...................................... 88 Figure 94: Velocity contour plot around blade airfoil close to root ............................................. 88 Figure 95: Vector plot for velocity close to blade winglet ........................................................... 89 Figure 96: Vector plot for velocity in the entire domain using symmetry.................................... 90 Figure 97: Symmetric flow conditions for all three blades with winglet ..................................... 90 Figure 98: Close up on vortices moving away from tip of blade by using winglets .................... 91 Figure 99: Senior Design Project Gantt chart ............................................................................... 93 Figure 100: Open Circuit Wind Tunnel ........................................................................................ 94 Figure 101: Closed Circuit Wind Tunnel...................................................................................... 95 Figure 102: Testing equipment circuit schematic[8]. ................................................................... 95 Figure 103: Testing setup for scaled wind turbine[8] ................................................................... 96 Figure 104: Prototype Wind Turbine .......................................................................................... 100 Figure 105: T-Mount................................................................................................................... 100 Figure 106: T-Mount and Blade Assembly ................................................................................ 101 Figure 107: Parallax Stepper Motor ............................................................................................ 101 Figure 108: Single Set Screw ...................................................................................................... 102 Figure 109: Blade ........................................................................................................................ 102 Figure 110: Hub .......................................................................................................................... 103 Figure 111: Computational Domain for the Wind Turbine Prototype ........................................ 104 Figure 112: SolidWorks CFD Study Settings ............................................................................. 105 Figure 113: SolidWorks CFD Study Settings ............................................................................. 106 Figure 114: CFD Study for the Prototype ................................................................................... 107 Page | 7
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Figure 115: CFD Study for the Prototype, Pressure Profile ....................................................... 108 Figure 116: Fixed Components in Blade Prototype.................................................................... 109 Figure 117: Mesh for Structural Analysis ................................................................................... 109 Figure 118: Von Mises Stresses without Winglet Implementation ............................................ 110 Figure 119: Deflection without Winglet Implementation........................................................... 111 Figure 120: Strain without Winglet Implementation .................................................................. 112 Figure 121: Von Mises Stress with Winglet Implementation..................................................... 113 Figure 122: Displacement with Winglet Implementation........................................................... 114 Figure 123: Strain with Winglet Implementation ....................................................................... 115 Figure 124: Average improvement ............................................................................................. 116 Figure 125: Load vs. % Improvement ........................................................................................ 117
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List of Tables
Table 1: Winglet Design Parameter Ranges ................................................................................. 46 Table 2: Airfoils for blade design[22] .......................................................................................... 53 Table 3: Position of airfoils along length of the blade .................................................................. 53 Table 4: Parameters for blade design[23] ..................................................................................... 54 Table 5: Airfoil Station Distribution for Final Blade Design ....................................................... 65 Table 6: Airfoil Configuration ...................................................................................................... 65 Table 7: Final Winglet Parameters ............................................................................................... 70 Table 8: Breakdown of tasks for Senior Design Project ............................................................... 92 Table 9: Comparison of materials ................................................................................................. 98 Table 10: Technical specifications................................................................................................ 99 Table 11: Cost of parts and supplies ........................................................................................... 103 Table 12: Max and Min Stresses, Displacement and Strains for No Winglet Configuration ..... 112 Table 13: Max and Min Stresses, Displacement and Strains for Winglet Configuration ........... 115 Table 14: Load vs. % Improvement ............................................................................................ 117
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Abstract
One of the major challenges in this new century is the efficient use of energy resources as well as the production of energy from renewable sources. Undoubtedly, researchers from around the world have shown that global warming has been caused in part by the greenhouse effect which is largely due to the use of fossil fuels for transportation and electricity. There are several alternative forms of energy that have already been explored and developed such as geothermal, solar, wind and hydroelectric power. Moreover, the advancement in renewable energy technologies has been possible thanks to the vast amount of research performed by scientists and engineers in order to make them more efficient and most importantly, more affordable. The affordability and performance of renewable energy technologies is the key to ensure the availability to the mass market. Within the scope of this subject, the Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Project Team composed of Juancarlo Rodriguez, Rinaldo Gonzalez and Diego Moreno has decided to develop a project based on the design and analysis of winglets for wind turbine rotor blades. Winglets are wing tip devices commonly used in the aeronautical industry to reduce drag on airplanes. However, some investigations have shown that these winglets can be used in wind turbine blades in order to maximize the power produced using wind resources. This type of application in rotating machinery is a fairly recent subject and some research has been performed by scientists at the RISO National Laboratory in Denmark, a country for which wind power provides almost 20% of the electricity production. The research project will involve the modeling of wind turbine winglets using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with turbulent models integrated in the simulation in order to better account for the fluid forces and aerodynamic analysis of the winglet at the tip of the rotor blade. Some of the tasks developed for this project include: Design of blades with attached winglets in CAD software CFD simulation of wind turbine winglet structures with turbulence model Winglet design structural study using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software Prototype experimental wind tunnel testing (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University)
Once all the computational modeling and design is finished, the rotor blade and winglet will be printed in a rapid 3D prototype for testing procedures to be completed in a wind tunnel testing facility. It is expected that this project will give the students an excellent background capability on the use of high level computational modeling and design, comparable to the ones that research engineers perform in the aerospace industry. The project will serve as a stepping stone for other Senior Design Projects that involved CFD and FEM analysis as well as provide prestige to the FIU College of Engineering in such a new field of research. Page | 10
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
One of the major challenges in this century is the efficient use of energy resources as well as the growing production of energy from renewable sources. There are several alternative forms of energy that have been explored and developed such as geothermal, solar, wind and hydroelectric power. The affordability and performance of renewable energy technologies is the key to ensure the availability to the mass market. The U.S. Department of Energy is aiming to expand the wind energy share in the U.S. energy mix. Currently 11.6 GW of power are installed and operational; with an expected growth the U.S. wind capacity will be at 305 GW, representing 20% of the nations power needs [1]. Hence, the development of enhanced and cost-effective components and technologies for this energy sector is critical for DOE to fulfill this mission. Furthermore, there is an increasing concern about the environmental impact of wind turbines on wildlife, specifically bats. Biologists have shown that one major cause of bat death is due to barotraumas- tissue damage to air-containing structures caused by rapid or excessive pressure change [2]. Although bats have the ability of echolocation, hence they are able to detect and avoid the blades; they may be killed or incapacitated by pressure drops around the blades. This pressure differential is greater at the tip of the blade, just like for airplanes, vortices are formed. This phenomenon can be observed in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Vortices created for airplane wings with and without winglets[3]
Consequently, there is a need to explore the use of winglets for wind turbine rotor blades, which will help address an increase in performance and lower the environmental impact of wind power.
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1.2 Motivation
Wind energy presents several challenges in order to generate electricity. The uncertainty on the constant availability of wind resource, the dynamic loads on the rotor and other components of the wind turbine due to the variable wind speed, the aerodynamic efficiency of the turbine blades, and other constraints that have been shown in the use of this renewable technology. Some of these challenges have been addressed since the 1970s and recently wind power has seen a growing investment in several countries [4]. Within this context, this B.S. thesis seeks to develop the design optimization of winglets for wind turbine rotor blades. Winglets are wing tip devices commonly used in the aeronautical industry to reduce drag on airplanes. However, some investigations have shown that these winglets can be used on wind turbine blades in order to maximize the power produced by the turbine by minimizing the vortex created at the tip of the blade, which in turn decreases drag [5],[6],[7][8],[9]. However, the previous referenced studies have not been comprehensive. The focuses of these published projects have been specific to numerical methods, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), experimental testing or structural analysis of winglets for wind turbines. With the use of optimization algorithms, CFD, finite element analysis (FEA), and experimental testing; this thesis will provide an extensive and encompassing analysis in support of these recent research efforts.
1.3 Literature Survey
1.3.1 Introduction to Wind Turbines
Historically, the force of the wind has been harnessed in various different applications, most importantly for the propulsion of ships by the use of sails. This resource has also been used by windmills to grind grains or for agricultural irrigation. The use of wind turbines to generate electricity began by the late nineteenth century, when a 12 kW windmill generator was constructed by Brush in the United States and LaCour, in Denmark, started doing research in this field. However, with the invention of the steam engine and the growing use of fossil fuels, these technologies took a larger part in electricity generation [10]. However after the Second World War, the research and development of larger and more efficient wind turbines was pursued in countries such as Germany, France, United Kingdom, Denmark and the United States. One good example of this period is the 1250 kW Smith-Putnam wind turbine constructed in the United States in 1941. This turbine had a 53 m diameter, full-span pitch control and flapping blades designed to reduce loads on the structure. The blade spar failed in 1945, however it remained the largest wind turbine constructed for around 40 years [11].
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Figure 2: Smith-Putnam Wind Turbine[12]
There were several development efforts across the world, notably the Andrea Enfield 100 kW (U.K.) in the 1950s, the 200 kW Gedser turbine (Denmark) built in 1956 and the 1.1 MW turbine from EDF (France) that was tested in 1963. Also, there were several prototypes developed by Hutter in Germany for lightweight designs in the 1960s [11]. Despite of these numerous projects, there was little interest and investment in wind power until the 1973 oil crisis.
Figure 3: Gedser Wind Turbine (Johannes Juul and the Vester Egesborg Turbines)[13]
In the mid- 1970s, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored projects in an effort to develop alternative sources of energy. This led to the development of large machines, notably the 38 m diameter 100 kW NASA MOD-0 in 1975 up to the 3.2 MW 98 m diameter Boeing MOD5B turbine. DOE also supported smaller projects such as a test facility in Rocky Flats, Colorado. It is important to state that notable progress did not start until the late 1970s. The U.S. Federal government passed the Public Utility Act of 1978 which required utilities to: (1) allow wind turbines to be connected to the electrical grid and (2) to pay the "avoided" cost for each kWh generated by the turbines and fed back to the grid
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Figure 4: (a) NASA MOD-0 Turbine, (b) Boeing MOD-5B Turbine[14]
Currently, the investment in wind power from DOE has increased from $54.37 million to $79.0 million between 2009 and 2010 [15]. Figure 4 shows the budget history for the wind power program, it can be observed that this increasing trend also corresponds for the period between 1990 to 2010. As it was also explained before, it can be observed that there was a budget increase in the late 1970s. It is important to state that the budget that the wind power program had for FY2010 is the largest amount that this project has ever achieved since 1975.
Figure 5: Budget history for the DOE Wind Power Program. Source: DOE-EERE.[16]
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Figure 6: Budget breakdown for DOE Wind Power Program udget FY2010.[16]
Figure 6 shows the pie chart for the breakdown of the wind power program budget, where it can be observed that 31% of the program's budget- the largest portion, is directed towards research and testing for new wind technologies[15]. There is also a significant amount of funding (25%) being directed towards systems integration. This increase in funding is in accordance with DOE's plan to increase the share of electricity production coming from wind power to 20% by the year 2030 [1]. Figure 7 shows the current installed wind power capacity across the United States. The states that have the largest number of installations are California, Oregon, Washington and Texas. There is also a significant capacity installed in Iowa with 3670 MW. The largest installations are in Texas with 9727 MW of wind power capacity.
Figure 7: Current installed power capacity (MW). Source: DOE-EERE[17]
Figure 8 shows the map of the necessary system integration and transmission lines that need to be implemented in order to achieve the wind power expansion plan by 2030. Page | 15
Figure 8: System integration for wind power plan 2030. Source: DOE-EERE [1].
Figure 9 shows the projected installed capacity by state for the 2030 plan. If Figure 7 and Figure 9 are compared, it can be seen that there are planned wind energy projects in the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina amongst other states where there are currently no wind turbines installed. More in detail, it can be observed that some of these wind turbines will be installed in offshore locations, all along the East coast, from the central Florida to the New York and Connecticut. The state of Nevada is also projected to have new installations for wind power projects. In terms of total capacity, in 2006 there were only 11.6 GW installed in the U.S., the aim for 2030 will require an increase to 305 GW [1].
Figure 9: Projected installed capacity by state for 2030. Source: DOE-EERE [1].
It is also interesting to comment on the position of the U.S. in the international development of wind power. According to the 2010 Global Wind Statistics published by the Global Wind Page | 16
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Energy Council, China leads with 21.8% of the worldwide wind capacity, the United States comes in a close second with 20.7 % whereas the nearest competitor is Germany with 14%. Moreover, for the year 2010, China can be attributed 46.1% of the new installed capacity, whereas the U.S. is behind with only 14.3%. It is clear that China is leading the way in the development of this renewable energy technology. Hence, these facts stress the importance of DOE's 2030 wind power plan [4]. This section provided a quick overview on the history of wind turbines, from its early development in Europe and the United States, as well as a review of the current status of the investments in wind power programs by the Department of Energy. It is interesting to also show the global perspective of this technology, where China is leading in this field with the largest capacity of installed wind power in the world. It is important for the United States to invest and continue the research and development (R&D) of technologies, methods or processes that will improve the efficiency and lower the cost of wind turbines.
1.3.2 Modern Wind Turbine Design
A wind turbine uses the aerodynamic force of the lift to rotate a shaft which in turn helps in the conversion of mechanical power to electricity by means of a generator. This differs from a simple windmill, which only considers the converts the wind's power to mechanical power. This mechanical work can be used for agricultural purposes such as grinding grains or irrigation procedures. For large networks, modern wind turbines are connected to the grid and serve the purpose of reducing the total electrical load. It must be noted that the electrical output of a wind turbine is fluctuating since the wind resource is not found at constant input, the speed varies significantly. The most common design of a wind turbine is the horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). The rotation axis is parallel to the ground as it can be observed in Figure 10.
Figure 10: Offshore wind turbines (REpower M5 turbines)[18]
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The major components of a HAWT are shown in Figure 11, for which the most important include: The rotor: blades and hub Drive train: including shafts, gearbox, brake system and generator Nacelle: housing and yaw system Tower and foundation Electrical and control system
Figure 11: (a) Components of a horizontal axis wind turbine, (b) Detailed view of components. Source: DOEEERE.[19],[20].
Figure 12: Gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly being installed in a horizontal axis wind turbine[18]
The rotor consists of the hub and the blades for the wind turbine. These components are often considered the most important in terms of performance improvement and cost efficiency. Nowadays, most designs have three blades and some manufacturers have included pitch control for the angle of pitch (rotated blade) as it can be observed in Figure 11(b). Some intermediate
1.3.2.1 Rotor
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez sized turbines have fixed pitch, especially in Denmark [19]. The turbine blades are manufactured from composite materials including fiberglass reinforced plastic, epoxy and wood laminates. 1.3.2.2 Drive train
The drive train is composed of the rotating components of the wind turbine. As it can be observed in Figure 11, these include the low-speed and high-speed shaft, gearbox and the generator. Some smaller components are also included such as bearings and couplings. A gearbox is used in order to transfer the mechanical power from the low-speed shaft, which is connected to the rotor to a high-speed shaft which will have a suitable angular velocity (rpm) to drive a generator. It must be noted that due to the fluctuating nature of the wind, the structural loads are dynamic and loads vary on the components of the drive train. 1.3.2.3 Generator
The vast majority of wind turbines use induction generators. This type of generator operates at a slightly higher range of speeds than synchronous speed, such as a four-phase generator has a 1800 rpm in a 60 Hz grid. Induction generators are solid, inexpensive and easy to adapt to the electrical grid [19]. 1.3.2.4 Nacelle
The nacelle includes the housing for the wind turbine interior components, as well as the yaw system. The housing cover helps protect the components from weather conditions. As it can be observed in Figure 11(b), the yaw system consists of a gear drive along with a motor. The purpose of this system is to rotate or control the orientation of the wind turbine with respect to the wind direction. The wind direction is specified by a sensor mounted outside, as the wind vane that can be seen in Figure 11(b). Figure 11 also shows the brake assembly which is used to keep the nacelle in the desired position. 1.3.2.5 Tower and foundation
Wind turbine towers are manufactured with steel tubes, truss or concrete towers. The ratio between rotor diameter and tower height is typically 1 to 1.5. It is to be noted that the tower height is also dependent on the geography and weather conditions of the site where it is installed. Moreover, the structural stiffness of the tower is of great importance due to induced vibrations from the rotor due to unsteady wind loads.
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez 1.3.2.6 Electrical and control system
The components related to this system are typically the following [19]: Sensors for temperature, flow, current, voltage and wind speed. Controllers for mechanical devices and computerized electrical components. Power amplifiers: switches, pumps, valves, amplifiers. Mechanical actuators: motors, pistons, and solenoids.
1.3.3 Wind turbine aerodynamics

During the operation of a horizontal axis wind turbine, the properties of the wind flowing through are constantly changing in relation with the distance upstream or downstream the flow field. Far upstream from the turbine, a circular boundary region starts forming, giving a cylindrical shape to the flow field. Such boundary is marked by the rotor blades sweeping around the turbine axis, and it defines the so called actuator disc. This definition is graphically demonstrated in Figure 13. 1.3.3.1 Actuator disc concept
Figure 13: Actuator Disc Concept[11]
The actuator disc is functionally defined as a device that extracts the kinetic energy from the wind and ideally transmits this power to a generator by means of a rotating shaft. Certain assumptions are made in the actuator disc concept, which are: Incompressible flow Irrotational flow Steady uniform flow upstream of the disc Steady uniform velocity at the disc
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The air flowing through the disc is contained within a stream duct
According to the continuity equation, mass flow rate along the stream-tube must remain constant. Moreover, velocity of air through a turbine gradually decreases; and pressure increases in order to maintain the same mass flow rate; thus the augmenting the cross sectional area of the stream-tube. According to Figure 14, in order to have balance between the upstream and downstream regions, the pressure in the wake region (downstream) is lower than atmospheric pressure and increases back again to atmospheric pressure far down in the free stream. The resultant of this is a change of kinetic energy, but no change in overall pressure [11].
Figure 14: Stream tube defined by actuator disc[11]
The mass of air passing through the cross section of the stream tube per unit time is AU, for which is the density of air, A is the cross sectional area and U is the flow velocity.
= = (1)
Where the subscripts denotes flow far upstream the actuator disc, d denotes flow properties at the actuator disc, and w denotes far wake. Since air is considered incompressible, it should be understood that the cross sectional area of the disc varies as a function of flow velocity. This factor of variation is defined as the axial flow induction factor a, and the stream-wise component of this induced flow is given by -aU. The net stream-wise velocity at the disk is given by
= (1 ) (2)
The overall change in velocity U-UW multiplied by the mass flow rate represents the rate of change in momentum
= ( ) (3)
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The rate of change in momentum comes from the force caused by the change in pressure. This is the only force present in the flow field.
+ ) ( = ( ) (1 )
(4)
The pressure difference between the front and the back of the disc if attained by implementing an appropriate form of Bernoullis equation, for upstream and downstream flow conditions, resulting in
1 + ) 2 2) ( = ( 2 = (1 2) (5)
It is then deducted from combining equations 4 and 5 that
(6)
It can be observed from Equation (6) that half of the speed loss takes place in the upstream and the other half occurs downstream of the disc. By combining Equation (6) and Equation (4), the force becomes
+ ) 2 = ( = 2 (1 )
(7)
Power extracted from the wind is calculated using force and the air speed at the actuator disc, thus
+ ) 3 = = ( = 2 (1 )2
(8)
Now, the coefficient of power is acquired by dividing the power extracted from the wind by the calculated available power in the air when the actuator disc is not present
= 1 3 2 (9) (10)
Theoretically, the maximum value for the power coefficient is achieved for a = 1/3.
= 4(1 )(1 3) = 0 = 16 = 0.593 27 (11)
= 4(1 )2
Giving a power coefficient of
(12)
This is known as the Betz limit, for which no wind turbine has achieved this value.. The reason being is not related to the performance of the turbine design, but to the approach used to obtain the coefficient. Perhaps, a fairer but not recognized definition of the coefficient of power would be Page | 22
= = 16 (1 3 ) 27 2 = 1 2 2 (13)
A non-dimensionalized form of the force equation can be used to calculate the Coefficient of Thrust
(14) (15)
When the axial induction factor a , the description given of the rate of change of momentum is no longer valid under the given conditions; thus, an empirical approach such as the rotor blade theory must be implemented. Figure 15 graphically demonstrates the behavior of CP and CT related to the axial induction factor a[11].
= 4(1 )
Figure 15: Coefficients of Power and Thrust vs. Axial Induction Factor
1.3.3.2 Rotor disc theory
Different ways of converting the energy extracted from the wind into usable energy are implemented in wind turbines. In horizontal axis wind turbines, the method used to convert wind energy to electrical power is referred to as the Rotor Disc Theory, which consists of a system of blades rotating about an axis parallel to the wind direction. The rotor disc produces torque which is then transferred to a generator through a shaft, where such torque is converted to electrical power. Such rotation incurs changes in the flow pressure and velocity as mentioned before, which make the rotor disc maintain a rotational speed . The induction of torque by the air in the rotor disc produces an equal and opposite torque in the air downstream, called wake rotation. Symmetrically within the thickness of the rotor disc, air being pushed by the blades in the rotation direction gain rotational momentum in the direction opposite to the rotation, generating a rotational motion in the air particles about the rotor axis. Such motion is responsible for the pressure drop downstream of the actuator disc, mentioned in the previous section.
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The magnitude of the rotational momentum and of the tangential velocity of rotation is proportional to a radial distance r of the air particle from the axis of rotation, and to the rotational speed . The term Tangential Flow Induction Factor (a) is used to express the relation of rotational momentum and tangential velocity with the radial distance r. Tangential velocity immediately downstream of the disc, at a distance r from the axis of rotation is equal to 2ra, and in the middle of the disc is ra. As particles travel radially downstream, axial force works against them and reduces their radial speed. Figure 16 explains the trajectory of particle of air traveling through the rotor disc, and Figure 17 shows in detail the development of the tangential velocity as blades cut through the air[11].
Figure 16: Path of a particle of air traveling through the rotor disc, subject to tangential moment[11]
Figure 17: Development of tangential velocity in rotor disc (Thickness)[11]
The torque at a radial distance r is calculated in the following manner Torque = rate of change of angular momentum Page | 24
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez = mass flow rate change of tangential velocity radius
= (1 )2 2 (16)
Ad represents the area of the circle or radius r, distance from the axis of rotation. The power on the shaft varies according to the tangential velocity as follows
= (17)
The power used in Equation (17) is the same power deduced by using Equation (8) in the previous section. Therefore
3 2 (1 )2 = (1 )22 2 2 (1 ) = 2 2
(18)
Resulting in
(19)
The local speed ratio = / is substituted into Equation (19), and when r = R (Edge radius), is known as the tip speed ratio Since the area of the circle with radius r distance from the axis of rotation is = 2, the incremental shaft power on that area is
1 3 = = ( 2)4(1 )2 2 (21) (1 ) = 2 (20)
The term inside the parenthesis in Equation (21) refers to the power flux through the annulus; and the elements outside represent the efficiency of the blade in capturing the power from the air. Hence, recalling the definition of the power coefficient:
= 8(1 )2 3 (22)
ratio .
Where = . If a and a are known, the power coefficient of the disc can be found given a speed The maximum coefficient of power in the rotational wake case is the same as for the nonrotational, which is
= 16 = 0.593 27 (23)
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez 1.3.3.3 BEM theory
An annular ring is created when a blade element is swept in the axial direction of the blade while the blade rotates. If two dimensional airfoil characteristics along with an angle of attack calculation are utilized, then the forces present on this blade element can be calculated. In the case of the axial flow induction factor a and the tangential flow induction factor a, values can be calculated with information about the aerofoil characteristic coefficient of drag Cd and coefficients of lift Cl[11]. For the following equations, consider a wind turbine with N blades of tip radius R each with chord c. Let the blades be rotating at angular velocity and let wind speed be U, angle is the angle between the drag vector and the lift vector and angle is the angle of attack.
Figure 18: Blade Element Velocities and Forces [11]
As shown in Figure 18, we can conclude that the resultant relative velocity W at the blade is
2 (1 )2 + 2 2 (1 + )2 =
(24)
The lift force can be expressed as

1 = 2 2 (25)
and the drag force will be
According to BEM theory, the force of a blade element is exclusively responsible for the change of momentum of the air which passes through the annulus swept by the element. This is an assumption that only holds if there is no interaction between the flows through contiguous annuli. The only way to comply with this assumption is having the axial flow induction factor a Page | 26
1 = 2 2
(26)
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez not varying radially. In real life situations this is not achieved due to different factors in the blade which cause losses. The component of aerodynamic force on N blade elements resolved in the axial direction is
1 cos + sin = 2 ( cos + sin ) 2
2 (1 )22 = 4 (1 )
(27)
The rate of change of axial momentum of the air passing through the swept annulus is
(28)
Taking also into consideration the dynamic head and knowing that the drop in wake pressure caused by wake rotation is equal to the increase of this dynamic head we can conclude that the axial force elements equation can be simplified into
2 ( ) (1 ) + ( )2 ) 2 cos + sin = 8( (29)
Also in the axial direction, we can conclude that the torque caused by aerodynamics forces on the blade is
1 ( sin cos ) = 2 ( sin cos ) 2 (1 )22 = 4 ()(1 ) 2 2 2 (1 ( ) ) 2 sin cos = 8 (30)
Besides axial direction components, we have also a rate of change of angular momentum present of the air passing through the annulus, this can be expressed as
(31)
If we equate together the rotor axial torque and the rate of change of the angular momentum, and simplify we will obtain
(32)
where = r/R.
The main purpose of this equation is to obtain the values for both flow induction factors, a and a. To successfully obtain them, an iterative process using Equations (33) and (34) must be done, where the right hand sides are evaluated using existing values of the flow induction factors yielding in this way, simple equations for the next iteration. For our convenience, before presenting the equations we can let Cx and Cy be = cos + sin = sin cos
Page | 27
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The equations for finding the induction factors are
( ) = 2 1 4 sin 2 4 sin2 = 1 + 4 sin cos = = 2 2 (33) (34)
where r is the chord solidity. The chord solidity is defined as the total blade chord length at a given radius divided by the circumferential length at that radius. It can be expressed as
(35)
We have to remember that BEM theory is strictly only applicable if the blades have uniform circulation. This means that a must be uniform throughout the whole blade. When this is not the case, a radial interaction and an exchange of moment will be present between flows through adjacent element in the annulus ring. BEM theory takes only into consideration the pressure drop as the only force that acts on the flow that goes through a given annular ring. If a is not uniform, more forces will be needed to take into account[11]. 1.3.3.4 Torque and Power
In order to calculate the torque and power developed by the rotor the value of the flow induction factor must be determined first. After having these values from Equations (33) and (34), it is logical to assume that the right hand side of Equation (31) can be used to determine the torque, but we have to remember that this set of previous equation do not include the influence of drag in the system. Therefore, adding drag only for the torque calculation we can conclude that the rotor develops a total torque Q that can be expressed as
1 2 3 2 (1 = 8 ) (1 + ) 2 0 = 1 3 2 2 (36)
The power developed by the rotor is P=Q and the power coefficient can be calculated with
(37)
As we can notice, torque and power are functions of the tip speed ratio. If we plot different coefficient of power values against tip speed ratios values we will be able to find the most efficient induction flow factor for which the power is maximized. A modern high-speed wind turbine curve is shown in Figure 19.
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Figure 19: Power Coefficient vs. Tip Speed Ratio[11]
As the flow induction factor a approximates to the Betz limit of 1/3, the maximum CP occurs at a tip speed ratio that corresponds to this value for a as shown in Figure 19. 1.3.3.5 Blade geometry
In order to extract as much energy as it is possible from a wind turbine all of its components should be optimized. In order to optimize the blade geometry, we should take into consideration its mode of operation; this can be variable rotational speed or constant rotational speed.
1.3.3.5.1 Optimal Design for Variable-Speed Operation
The biggest advantage that a variable-speed wind turbine has is that it can maintain a constant tip speed ratio that will produce the maximum power coefficient regardless of wind speed. For this constant tip speed ratio, the torque will be maximized if
1 = (38)
If we divide Equations (29) and (32) this relationship between the flow induction factors can be obtained.
(1 ) tan 1 = (1 ) + ( )2 tan + 1 tan = 1 (1 ) (39)
The flow angle is given by
(40)
If we substitute Equation (40) into Equation (39) and simplify we will obtain
(1 ) (1 ) [(1 ) + ( )2 ] = (1 ) + (1 ) [(1 )]
(41)
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez If drag is ignored, Equation (41) can be reduced to
(1 ) 2 2 = 0 2 2 = 0 (42)
Differentiating with respect to a gives
and if we substitute Equation (38) into (40)
(1 2)
(43)
Using Equations (42) and (44) together we can obtain the optimized for operation induction factors
1 (1 ) = 3 2 2 (45)
(1 2)(1 ) 2 2 = 0
(44)
In the other hand, circulation must be uniform along the blade span in order to maintain an optimized operation. Circulation can be expressed as
2 = 4 (1 )
(46)
After taking into consideration the above parameters, the blade geometry can be determined. For blade geometry we can understand, how the chord size vary along the blade and what pitch angle distribution is necessary. From Equation (32) we can obtain the following expression
42 = 2 (47)
The only unknown in Equation (47) is the coefficient of lift so it can be included on the left hand side of the equation. Also, taking into consideration Equation (35) and the tip speed ratio we can develop a blade geometry parameter expression.
= 42 2 = 2 (1 )2 + ((1 + ))2 8 9 (48)
After introducing the optimum conditions from Equation (45)

=
(1 1)2 + 2 2 1 + 3
2 2 9(2 2 )
(49)
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1.3.3.5.2 Effects of Drag on Optimal Blade Design
The problem with including drag is that it largely increases the complexity of the numerical analysis. Polynomials equations have to be solved for both flow induction factors. In the presence of drag, the induction factor cannot be considered anymore as constant thru ought the disc as the hypothetical drag free situation. Nevertheless, including Equation (32) into the blade geometry parameter and comparing blade geometry parameter against local speed ratio from both situations, zero drag and with a lift-drag ratio of 40, we find that drag has very little effect on blade optimal design. The same happens with inflow angle.
42 2 (1 ) = 2 (1 ) (1 ) + (50)
Figure 20: Span-wise Variation of the Blade Geometry Parameter with and without Drag[11]
Figure 21: Variation of Inflow Angle with Local Speed Ratio with and without Drag[11]
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez As far as blade design is concerned drag can be ignored, but in the other hand, this situation is opposite to what happens with the Coefficient of Power. Figure 22 shows how Cp decreases when the tip speed ratio increases. Without drag, Cp is always constant.
Figure 22: The Variation of Coefficient of Power with Design Tip Speed Ratios[11]
1.3.3.5.3 Optimal Blade Design for Constant-Speed Operation
If the rotor will maintain a constant speed, will vary and the most optimal condition will be present just in specific times. There is no simple technique for the optimization of this type of operation but non-linear programming methods could be applied in order to maximize wind energy capture on a site with a specific wind distribution pattern. In this case it will also be possible to design the wind turbine for the most common tip speed ratio of the site, in this way obtaining the largest amount of energy from the wind. Also, a more practical method could be adjusting the pitch angle to maximize energy capture. 1.3.3.6 Discrete Number of Blades
All the previous analysis assumes that in the turbine a large number of blades is present, enough to consider it a disk when it is rotating. This will make every particle of air to interact with a blade so all the fluid particles will undergo the same loss of momentum. When only three blades are present, the majority of the fluid particles will pass through the space between the blades, so the loss of momentum of the fluid particles will not be equal throughout the rotating disk, it will vary depending on the proximity of this fluid particle to a blade.
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1.3.3.6.1 Tip Losses
One of the most important problems with a small number of blades is tip losses. At the tip of blade occurs a peculiar phenomenon, the induction factor suddenly increases, which makes the inflow angle small and consequently the component of the lift force will be small which will produce a reduced torque. With a low torque, power will be immediately decreased. This phenomenon produces a vortex at the outermost part of the blade, just as the vortexes that form at the tip of an aircraft wing. The only difference is that in the case of a wind turbine blade, since the blade follows a circular path, a trailing vortex of helical structure is formed as shown in Figure 23.
Figure 23: Helical Trailing Tip Vortices[11]
Also, the discrete number of blades leaves another problem, with a small quantity of blades rather with a continuous disk, the axial flow induction factor is not uniform anymore. The average value of a, azimuthally, is radially uniform which means that in the vicinity of the blade a has high values while low values occurs on the blade. When the tip of the blade is analyzed the value of a substantially increases. The ratio between the average value of a and that at a blade position is called tip-loss factor. This factor is constant throughout the majority of the surface of the blade until the tip approximates where the factor rapidly falls to zero[11]. This changing value of the flow induction factor has repercussions in the coefficient of power of the blade. Taking into consideration the presence of tip-loss the increment of Cp from a blade element is
= 8(1 )(1 ) (51)
where a = 1/3 is the average axial flow induction factor and ar is the value local to the blade.
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Since a falls to zero towards the blade tips, then circulation must also fall to zero in the same manner. The circulation falling to zero causes that each blade shed a helicoidal sheet of vorticity rather than a single helical vortex as shown in Figure 23, this is shown in Figure 24.
Figure 24: A helicoidal Vortex Sheet[11]
All this phenomenon happens at the blade tip because of the pressure difference between the blade surfaces. It can be concluded that the induction factor variation is a function of r and so the azimuthally averaged value of a(r) = ab(r)(r) , where (r) is known as the tip loss factor. It has a value of the unity inboard and falls to zero as it is approaching the tip of the blade. The value of ab(r) is the level of axial flow induction factor that occurs locally at a blade element. Using this new notation we can say:
The mass flow rate through an annulus = 1 ()()2
The azimuthally averaged overall change of axial velocity = 2 ()() The blade element forces = 2 2
1 1 2 2
The rate of change of axial momentum = 4 1 ()() ()()
1.3.3.6.2 Prandtls Approximation for the Tip-Loss Factor
Until now, no expression for the tip-loss factor has been presented. This is because there is no analytical mean to find its exact value. Nevertheless, Ludwig Prandtl developed an approximate solution. The tip-loss factor is given by
() =
2 2 ( )2 cos (( 2 )(1)/)1+ /(1)
(52)
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Circulation is also affected by tip-losses, now that is known that circulation is not uniform we can express it as a function of r also. Therefore
() =
2 4 ()(1 ())2 1
(53)
1.3.3.6.3 Optimum Blade Design and Tip-Loss
The objective of blade design is to find the most optimal value for a, in order to calculate blade parameters that will lead to the most efficient shape. Since a is not uniform in this case, a new expression must be found. This new value for a and a which takes into account tip-losses can be expressed as
= 1 1 1 + 1 + 2 3 3 3 (1 ) = 2 2 (54)
(55)
Knowing the induction factor, makes possible the calculation of the blade geometry parameter which will give the most optimum blade design.
= 4(1 )
In the same way, the inflow angle distribution must be determined with a different expression.
tan = 1
2 (1 ) 1 + 1 + 2 2
2
(56)
(1 ) 1 + 2 2
(57)
For the calculation of the power coefficient the new values from both induction factors must be used.
= 1 3 2 2 = 82 (1 )3
0 1
(58)
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Coefficient of power is largely reduced when tip-losses are taken into account, especially at low tip speed ratios as shown in Figure 25.
Figure 25: Variation of Coefficient of Power with Design Tip Speed Ratios for Various L/D ratios[11]
1.3.3.7 Definitions of drag and lift

1.3.3.7.1 Drag
The force on an immersed body that is parallel to the flow direction is called drag. This force in very slow-moving fluids is caused by the viscous, frictional stresses between the wall of the body and the fluid. In relatively high fluid velocities and within a low viscosity fluid the drag force is mainly caused by an asymmetric pressure distribution as shown in Figure 26.
Figure 26: Separated Flow Pressure Distribution Around a Cylinder[11]
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Drag can be expressed as
= 3 (59)
where U is the flow velocity and d is the diameter of the cylinder. The definition of the drag coefficient for an aircraft wing or a wind turbine blade will be
= / 1 2 2 (60)
where c is the chord length of the airfoil.

1.3.3.7.2 Lift
When a body is immersed on a fluid, it will experience a force that is normal to the flow direction, this force is called Lift. This force will not occur if there is no circulatory flow around the body. In the case of the wind turbines, the blade is considered a non-rotating body, so in order to achieve lift in this situation the body must have a sharp trailing edge like an airfoil crosssectional shape or a thin plate. Lift force can be expressed as
= ( ) (61)
where is the circulation. In the case of a wind turbine blade circulation can be expressed as
= sin (62)
where c is the chord length of the airfoil and is the angle of attack. For aircraft wings and wind turbine blades, the lift coefficient is defined as
= 0 sin (63)
where a0 is called the lift-curve slope and is about 5.73. This term, a0, should not be confused with the flow induction factor.
1.3.4 Wind turbine loads and structure
The majority of wind turbines are manufactured using carbon fiber reinforced plastics. The manufacturing process consists first of laying a thin-film of gelcoat in moulds. This gelcoat gives the smooth white finish to the blade. In order to increase the strength and stiffness of the blade, webs are glued between the two shells before these are glued together. This construction can be observed in more detail in Figure 27. Page | 37
1.3.4.1 Beam theory for wind turbine blades
Figure 27: Components of a blade[10]
This box-like structure can be modeled as a beam for structural purposes[10]. The blade will then have a value for E, G and I which are the modulus of elasticity, shear modulus and the moment of inertia respectively. The analysis begins by defining the parameters found in Figure 28.
Figure 28: Structural parameters for a cross section of the blade. Reproduced from [10].
For which the parameters are given as: EI1 - bending stiffness about the first principal axis EI2- bending stiffness about the second principal axis GIv- torsional stiffness XE- distance from the reference point to the point of elasticity Xm- distance from the reference point to the center of mass XS- distance from the reference point to the shear center - twist of the airfoil section with respects to the tip chord line v- angle between chord line and the first principal axis +v- angle between tip chord line and the first principal axis Page | 38
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The point of elasticity is defined as the point where a normal force does not give rise to a bending of the beam. The shear center is the point where a force on the plane does not rotate the airfoil[10].
Figure 29: Blade section and reference axes. Reproduced from [10].
Furthermore, other quantities are defined in regards to the XR and YR axes: Longitudinal stiffness: =
Moment of stiffness about XR: =

2 Moment of inertia about XR : =
Moment of stiffness about YR: =

2 Moment of inertia about YR : =
Hence the point of elasticity can be calculated as:

=
Moment of centrifugal stiffness : =

= (64) (65)
Assuming that E and the density are constant, the point of elasticity corresponds to the center of mass. The moments of inertia and centrifugal stiffness are moved to the coordinate system X'Y' which is parallel to the system XRYR by the following calculations:
Page | 39
2 = ( )2 =
(66) (67) (68)
Given this transformation, the angle can now be calculated [10] :

1 2 = 1 2 1 = tan 2 = tan
= =
2 = ( )2 =
(69) (70) (71)
Finally, the stress (, ) in the cross-section with bending moments Mx and My and normal force N is found by: The strain is calculated by:
( , ) = ( , )( , ) ( , ) = 1 2 + 1 2 (72)
(73)
Positive values of , and N are for tension and negative values are for compression. The values of M1 and M2 can be calculated by the following analysis of a beam:
Figure 30: Cantilever beam analysis. Reproduced from [10].
Given the external loads Py and Pz, the shear forces Vz and Vy as well as the bending moments My and Mz are calculated as follows:
= ( ) + ( ) () = ( ) + ( ) () = (74) (75) (76)
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= (77)
If the blade is in equilibrium then () = 0. Hence, M1 and M2 are given by:

2 = sin( + ) cos( + ) 1 = cos( + ) sin( + )
(78) (79)
1.3.4.2 Dynamic structural model
Since wind loads are not constant and vary with time, it is important to consider a dynamic structural model in order to study the unsteady loads on the different components of the wind turbine. The deflection and velocities of thee components can be calculated as time dependent values by using a time dependent load from the BEM method. Although the structural modeling for this project is developed using FEA, a short description will be given on the use of a model using the principle of virtual work [10]. The system is setup following Newton's second law, for M, the mass matrix, K, the stiffness matrix and C the damping matrix in the following manner:
+ + = (80)
Where Fg is the general force vector coming from the external loads p. Given the loads and conditions for the velocities and deformations, this equation can be solved for the accelerations hence the velocity and deformation of the next time step can be determined as well. The number of elements in x is called the number of degrees of freedom (DOF). In some studies, modal shape functions are used to reduce the number of DOF. In aeroelastic codes such as FLEX, 17 to 20 DOFs are used for a three-blade wind turbine[10]. The values in the vector x are known as the general coordinate. To each of thee, a deflection shape ui is associated, which serves to describe the deformation of the structure. If the deflections x and velocities are known, the following formulation can be written:
= = ( , , )
(81)
Where function f is generally non linear. If the behavior of this function is known for time = , the acceleration at time can be found by:
= ( , , )
(82)
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Given the accelerations, velocities and positions at time , then the velocities and positions at +1 can be calculated by a Runge-Kutta-Nystrm integration scheme. The new loads at +1 can also be calculated by an unsteady BEM method [10]. 1.3.4.3 Sources of loads in wind turbines
1.3.4.3.1 Gravitational loading
The earths gravitational field causes a sinusoidal loading on each blade. The load is sinusoidal because as shown in Figure 31, when the blade goes from position 1 to position 2, the stresses on its surfaces change from tensile to compressive and vice versa.
Figure 31: Loading caused by the Earth's Gravitational Field[10]
This cyclic loading causes fatigue in the wind turbine, especially when it is taken into consideration that a wind turbine blade might weight several tons and be more than 30 meters long.
1.3.4.3.2 Inertial loading
Inertial loading can occur in various situations. When the turbine is accelerated or decelerated is one of those situations. Braking of the rotor will cause that a small section of the blade will feel a force dF in the direction of the rotation as shown in Figure 32.
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Figure 32: Loading caused by Braking the Rotor[10]
This force can be found with the expression

= = (83)
where m is the mass per length of the blade, r the radius from the rotational axis to the section and dr the size of the small section; = / can be found from where I is the moment of inertia of the rotor and T is the torque. Another common type of inertial loading is due to the centrifugal force acting on the blades. This type of loading causes a flapwise bending moment which can be reduced by coning the rotor backwards with a cone angle of cone as shown in Figure 33.
(84)
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Figure 33: Effect of coning the rotor[10]
1.3.4.3.3 Aerodynamic loading
This is the most important type of loading on a wind turbine. Aerodynamic loading is caused by the air flow past the whole stricter, blades and tower. The wind speeds of this airflow increases as the height is larger and causes shear forces on the blades. Wind shear causes a sinusoidal variation of wind speeds seen by the blade. Also, the turbulent fluctuations superimposed on the mean wind speed also produces a variation in the wind speed and thus in the angle of attack. This constant change of the angle of attack causes fatigue on the blades and should be carefully studied using the most realistic wind field as possible. The turbine tower also has an influence in how the wind affects the structure. The tower is changing the flow pattern thus the velocity and the pressure of the wind is altered. Since wind fields in reality, are hard to predict, wind turbines commonly operate in yaw conditions, this means that the direction of the wind is not in the right angle for the blade design. This condition increment the loads on the blade due to increased drag, therefore it will contribute to the fatigue loads that will reduce the expected lifetime of the rotor. It can be concluded that the change of the angle of attack on the blades can highly increase the loading in the structure. These changes can be mainly produced by turbulence, wind shear, turbine tower and yaw/tilt[10].
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2 Conceptual design
2.1 Winglet design
Height Sweep angle Cant angle Curvature radius Toe angle Twist angle
The geometry of a winglet is defined by six parameters:
The geometry of winglets has been extensively investigated for the aeronautical industry and specifically for high performance sailplanes [21]. Since it has been shown that winglets decrease drag and improve aerodynamic performance of wind turbine rotor blades, it is important to understand and analyze the design and performance improvement process that these researchers used for this application. This gives a good overview and provides with ideas on how to manage the design process for the wind turbine application.
Figure 34: Parameters describing winglet geometry [6].
These geometric parameters can serve as the variables for input to the optimization algorithm in order to find the optimal shape given the aerodynamic constraints and goals.
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Following the investigations studied in the provided literature survey; the winglet height, curvature radius, sweep and twist angles will be taken into account in order to study different design alternatives. When proposing preliminary designs to optimize the winglet, a certain numerical range is assigned to each parameter. The initial design proposed consists of the following ranges shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Winglet Design Parameter Ranges
Parameter Range Winglet Height (h) (%R) 1%-5% (h=1%) Curvature Radius (%h) 10%-100% (curvature=10%) Sweep Angle (-30) - 30 (sweep=10) Cant Angle 40-90 (cant=10%) Graphical definitions of each parameter are given below.
Figure 35: Winglets with different curvature radius [7]
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Figure 36: Winglets with different sweep angles [7]
Figure 37: Winglets with different height [7]
2.2 Airfoils and blade geometry
In order to select a main blade to conduct the most extensive part of the optimization, 12 random winglet configurations are taken from the design parameters range table. A blade is selected to perform more extensive optimization experiments after implementing a winglet. Selecting a
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez single blade avoids having to implement the winglet in three different blades, reducing the experiment time outrageously. There are many different types of airfoils used for wind turbine rotor blades. Just to name a few that have been used to design blades for wind turbines and also studied in the available winglet research literature are: NACA 64-518 NACA 64-018 NACA 64-430 FFA-W3-301
Some researchers have used blended wings using two different types of airfoils in order to achieve the desired design. Such a design is shown in Figure 38.
Figure 38: Blade profiles from NACA 63-430 and FFA-W3-301[9].
As it can be observed, the NACA series airfoils are quite popular in this type of application. However, it has been shown that these airfoils have noticeable performance degradation from roughness effects resulting from leading-edge contamination. This leads to energy losses which can be of great importance for stall-regulated rotors. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) began its development of new airfoils specific for wind turbine application. The annual energy improvements from the NREL airfoil families are projected to be 23%to 35% for stall-regulated turbines, 8% to 20% for variable-pitch turbines and 8% to 10% for variable-rpm turbines. Page | 48
Figure 39: NREL airfoils for small sized blades[22]
Figure 40: NREL airfoils for medium sized blades[22]
Figure 39 and Figure 40 show two examples of NREL airfoils for small and medium size blades. It can be observed that the design of the airfoil is not constant throughout the length of the blade. In the case of the airfoil family of small blades, it can be seen that NREL S822 and S823 airfoils are used, from the tip region to the root region respectively. The blade is thicker at the root close to the rotor and gets thinner through the length of the blade. There is another factor that must be taken into account and it is the fact that the angle of attack is not constant for a wind turbine blade. Unlike airplanes, wind turbine blades need to pick up air and create lift for a rotational motion, hence there is a certain degree of twist (correlated to the difference in angle of attack) that is designed for the blade. Moreover, as it can be observed in Figure 38, the airfoil size is not Page | 49
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez constant either, as it can be seen that there is a certain scale down ratio for each cross section of the blade. These are the type of considerations that will be taken into account for the design of the blade.
3 Design components
In order to completely test any winglet design and notice and prove any improvements delivered from winglet design alternatives, the design must be tested on an existing wind turbine configuration for which power output, aerodynamic and operational data are known or can be found. The proposed wind turbine to conduct all aerodynamics and structural studies consists of an upwind tri-blade horizontal axis turbine, with a rotor diameter D=32m, rotor height h=30 m, power output of approximately 400 kW, tip speed ratio of 4-10, at a wind speed of 0-15 m/s. The design parameters for the wind turbine are referenced from the Vestas V39 Wind Turbine (Vestas Tech Specs in Appendix B). Based on this design, the blades are changed and tested, and winglets are implemented and tested. To attain maximum power generation from a wind turbine, the correct and optimized design of the blades is necessary. An optimal blade features a maximum lift coefficient for which roughness has no effect[22]. It is also a goal of the airfoil family to reach the minimum Cd/Cl possible. Through the length of an optimal blade, different airfoil shapes are present. Usually, 3 to 5 different airfoil shapes are distributed along a blade, and the distance between them depends on the behavior of the flow around each individual airfoil at a radial position from the rotor center. In the extent of this project, three different families of airfoils are tested for best performance, with and without a winglet. From a specified rotor diameter, wind speed and range of tip speed ratio, and a random selection of twelve winglet configurations, the three blade configurations are tested for maximum Cl. The best performing blade featuring a winglet is to be used for further winglet design optimization; however, final optimized designs are to be tested in all three blades. The airfoil families to be used in this project have been extracted from various sources, including a paper from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Airfoils Inc., and the RISO DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy.
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3.1.1 Blade pitch angle
3.1 Theoretical Design

A critical part of the rotor design includes the selection of either a variable speed ratio or a fixed speed ratio, and this is determined by either implementing a variable blade pitch system or selecting a fixed blade pitch angle. For the purpose of this project, a fixed blade pitch angle is chosen. Recalling previous definitions, the tip speed ratio is defined as the ratio between the blade tip speed and the wind speed. Since the wind speed in a regular environment is a variable phenomenon, it is physically right to say that having a fixed blade pitch angle produces a variable tip speed ratio. An optimal blade pitch angle is attained by means of BEM and later optimized through CFD.
A variable angle of attack through the length of the blade is given by a specified twist angle. The distribution of the twist angle is based on the aerodynamic behavior (Cd/Cl and other parameters) of each individual airfoil at a certain angle of attack. This angle of attack is then translated to the angle of relative wind by adding the initial twist angle of the blade. Equation (84) yields to the angle of relative wind .
2 1 = tan1 ( ) 3 (85)
3.1.2 Blade twist angle
where r is the local speed ratio [19]. The distribution of the twist angle is given in the proposed design, and it is equal to minus the angle of attack .
3.1.3 Chord distribution
The chord length of each airfoil in a blade is also variable, and it is obtained with Equation (85).
= 8 (1 ) (86)
where B is the number of blades [19] The distribution of the chord length is given in the proposed design.
3.2 Proposed Initial Design
The design of the blade has been preliminarily performed using Qblade, an available wind turbine blade design software which works together with Xfoil in order to design and analyze a blade with different airfoils for each cross section as well as twist angle along the length of the blade.
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez For the purpose of this project, the following airfoil family has been chosen, which is composed of NREL airfoils S813, S812, S814. Airfoil NREL S815 was added to the configuration. An example of an NREL thick airfoil family is shown in Figure 41.
Figure 41: NREL airfoil family for large blades[22]
Figure 42: Airfoil configuration plotted in Qblade
The parameters for the design of the blade were taken from a student design optimization in which a wind turbine blade was optimized using several methodologies including design of experiments (DOE), gradient-based sequential quadratic programming optimization and a multiobjective genetic algorithm [23]. The objective functions of this optimization project are to maximize the power output while minimizing the blade volume and structural stress. The chosen blade radius is 16 m, and in the case of the project presented by the MIT students, the blade design consists of NREL airfoils S814 and S813 only.
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Given that the purpose of this B.S. thesis is the design, analysis and optimization of winglets, the blade design will be based upon the findings of this optimization project. In order to have an original blade design for this project, the following NREL airfoil family was used for the blade geometry. Table 2 shows the configuration for a medium to large blade length recommended by NREL [22]. It can be observed that this configuration is similar to the one used by the MIT students, except the fact that the shape of the blade is more defined along its cross sections by including transition airfoils before airfoil S814 and S813. Unlike typical airfoils used in aeronautics, these airfoils have been specifically designed for wind turbines. The camber in these airfoils is higher than others and from the configuration shown in Figure 42, it can be observed that the thickness of the blade is higher at its root, and decreases along its length, until the thinnest airfoil is used at the tip.
Table 2: Airfoils for blade design[22]
Blade Length (m) 10-15
Generator (kW) 150-400
Thickness category thick S815
Airfoil family (root to tip) S814 S812 S813
The location of the airfoil family along the length of the blade is described in Table 2, where x is the position from the root to the tip of the blade and R is the radius of the blade (16 m).
Table 3: Position of airfoils along length of the blade
Airfoil S815 S814 S812 S813
x/R 0.3 0.4 0.75 0.95
x(m) 4.8 6.4 12 15.2
The twist angle, defined as the angle between the airfoil chord line and the plane of the blade rotation, is shown in Table 4. Also, another parameter that is detailed in this table is the chord length of the airfoil. It can be observed that the chore length decreases along the length of the blade. This design technique is called tapering.
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Table 4: Parameters for blade design[23]
X (m) 3.2 4.0 4.8 5.6 6.4 7.2 8.0 8.8 9.6 10.4 11.2 12.0 12.8 13.6 14.4 15.2 16.0
x/R 0.200 0.250 0.299 0.351 0.403 0.450 0.500 0.552 0.601 0.651 0.700 0.750 0.802 0.851 0.901 0.950 1.000
Twist angle (deg) 0 8.23 16.47 24.20 30.69 36.67 40.91 43.89 44.87 45.11 45.09 45.08 45.06 45.05 45.03 45.02 45.00
Chord length (m) 1.900 1.734 1.567 1.409 1.268 1.118 1.001 0.884 0.784 0.692 0.601 0.525 0.442 0.383 0.316 0.266 0.232
As previously stated, the design of the blade was accomplished using Qblade, for which a screenshot is given in Figure 43. In this software, each cross section of the blade is defined with a specific airfoil, for which the coordinates are loaded as .dat files, avaible from online sources. Once the specific airfoil for the cross section is set, then the chord length and twist angle are specified, as well as the location x/R of this blade section. This process is repeated for n cross section of the blade. It can be observed that the blade is constructed with a surface lofted throughout the blade geometry. The output of this design is given as a list of X, Y and Z coordinates of the section airfoil at each x/R. This enables the user to import each cross section as a curve in a CAD program, a spline is used to connect the point cloud and the part can be created by means of a loft technique, such as in SolidWorks. The output for the blade built for this project is given in Appendix C.
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Figure 43: Design of the blade in Qblade
Another capability of the Qblade program is the analysis of each airfoil aerodynamic performancce measurements. This analysis is made possible by its ability to use XFoil to analyze the aerodynamic properties of the foil. An example of output is given in Figure 44 is the coefficient of lift vs. the angle of attack of the airfoil. It can be observed that for a higher angle of attack, the lift coefficient increases up to a point where the airfoil experiences stall, hence the sudden drop in the graph. It can be seen that a higher lift is achieved by airfoil S815, which is thicker and its camber is greater.
Figure 44: Plot of Coefficient of Lift (Cl) vs. Angle of Attack (alpha)
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Figure 45: Plot of Coefficient of Lift (Cl) vs. Coefficient of Drag (Cd)
Other plots shown as well are the coefficient of lift vs. coefficient of drag in Figure 45 and the Cl/Cd ratio vs. angle of attack in Figure 46. It is interesting to observer that the Cl/Cd ratio is higher for the S813 airfoil which is located at the edge of the blade. Although the other airfoils have higher lift, this created more drag as well given the high camber. It can be stated that the Cl/Cd ratio is increased from the root to the tip region of the blade. This is quite logical given that performance of a wind turbine is to be completed by increasing the rotation speed, hence torque, of the rotating blades. If the Cl/Cd ratio is higher in the tip region, hence a higher torque is generated for the wind turbine.
Figure 46: Plot of Cl/Cd vs. Angle of Attack (alpha)
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Figure 47: Plot of Twist angle vs. Blade length
Figure 48:Front view of blade without winglet
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Figure 49: Isometric view of blade without winglet
Figure 50: Side view of blade without winglet
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Figure 51: Winglet, view 1
Figure 52: Winglet, view 2
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Figure 53: Blade with winglet
Figure 54: Blade with winglet, isometric view
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Figure 55: Isometric view of nacelle
Figure 56: Nacelle
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Figure 57: Isometric view of blade-nacelle assembly
Figure 58: Nacelle with three blades assembly
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4 Final Design
4.1 Blade Design with Winglet
There are several sizing aspects involved in the design of a wind turbine, specifically a wind turbine blade. Based on previous designs and research, an optimal blade design has been implemented for this project, involving airfoils, twisting, setup, and scaling factors from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The rotor diameter for the wind turbine is 30 meters, and the winglet configuration selected will add approximately one meter to this dimension, depending on the configuration used. This dimension could be altered by changes in one or more characteristics of the winglet. The design parameters of the winglet that this project involves are height, radius and cant angle.
4.1.1 Sizing and parameters
Parameterization consists in converting each of the geometric characteristics of the winglet into a variable, which can easily be identified and whose value can be effectively modified. Error! Reference source not found. shows the setup of the parameters in the blade geometry.
4.2 Parameterization of Design
4.2.1 Cant angle
The cant angle of a winglet has been previously defined in this report. The range of variation for the cant angle for the purpose of this project is from 10 to 90. Changing this parameter automatically by using a randomizer is only possible by parameterizing the dimension. Parameterization is done through SolidWorks in this case, although any CAD software should facilitate this task.
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Figure 59: Parameterization of winglet design
4.2.2 Radius (Percentage of Height)
The radius between the turbine blade and the winglet varies as a function of the winglet height; therefore the parameter setup for this case is a multiple of the height. The radius varies from 10% to 100% of the height of the winglet, and it will be defined by a parameterized multiple of the height. In this design, the parameter that changes the radius has been given the name PRad.
4.2.3 Height
The height of the winglet fluctuates in relation with the turbine rotor radius, varying from 1% to 2% of the rotor radius. This parameter is setup to change in the range of 0.16 to 0.32 meters.
4.2.4 Randomization of Geometries
After setting up the parameters, the complete geometry is inserted into the optimization software, ModeFRONTIER. This software organizes the complete study, from the creation of geometric variations of the winglet to the evaluation and optimization of results. A function of the program called SOBOL Randomizer creates a series of random values within the selected ranges for each parameter, given a certain delta value.
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4.3 Final CAD design
The blade final design is based on the NREL airfoil family as the preliminary design. The length of the blade changed due to prototyping and testing issues. The new airfoil configuration is shown in Table 5 and Table 6.
Table 5: Airfoil Station Distribution for Final Blade Design
X (m) 3.2 4.0 4.8 5.6 6.4 7.2 8.0 8.8 9.6 10.4 11.2 12.0 12.8
x/R 0.200 0.250 0.299 0.351 0.403 0.450 0.500 0.552 0.601 0.651 0.700 0.750 0.802 Airfoil S815 S814 S812 S813
Twist angle (deg) 0 8.23 16.47 24.20 30.69 36.67 40.91 43.89 44.87 45.11 45.09 45.08 45.06 x/R 0.3 0.4 0.75 0.95
Chord length (m) 1.900 1.734 1.567 1.409 1.268 1.118 1.001 0.884 0.784 0.692 0.601 0.525 0.442 x(m) 4.8 6.4 12 15.2
Table 6: Airfoil Configuration
The length of the blade decreases by 3.2 meters from the preliminary design due to a prototype scaling problem. The prototype scale will be discussed later on.
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Figure 60: Final Blade with Stations
Figure 60 shows the final blade design and the respective airfoil stations that shaped the geometry of the blade. These changes in chord length of the airfoil and the specific twist angle at each station will produce the lift and the rotation needed. The design process of the blade can be described in three different steps. These are: Airfoil Selection, Airfoil Distribution and Twist Angle design, and finally CAD implementation. The first two steps are explained in Sections 2.2 and 3.2 respectively. The third step, CAD implementation, was done using SolidWorks and the process is explained below. From the airfoil distribution and twist angle design using QBlade, a file with the exported airfoil stations in a coordinate system form was obtained. This file includes the points that describe each airfoil and its location in a Cartesian plane. These points were imported into SolidWorks as curves as shown in Figure 61, Figure 62 and Figure 63.
Figure 61: Inserting Curves in SolidWorks
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Figure 62: Curves in SolidWorks Front View
Figure 63: Curves in SolidWorks Isometric View
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The next step is to use the Loft feature in SW to create the geometry of blade, the selection of the right points in the different airfoils is critical for the loft to be successful.
Figure 64: Loft of curves in SolidWorks
The Loft feature will produce the geometry needed for the blade with an accurate resolution. As a recommendation, the selection of the guide points should always be in the trailing edge of the airfoil to produce the most accurate solution for the geometry.
Figure 65: Finalized Blade
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4.4 Winglet Implementation
The winglet to be implemented has the same airfoil as the tip of the blade, in this case NREL S813. The winglet has several parameters that define its geometry. Between these parameters we can find the height, the radius and the cant angle. These parameters were taken into consideration in the design of the winglet as shown in Figure 66. These values were parameterized for convenient modifications and to reduce the design time.
Figure 66: Parameterization in SolidWorks
Figure 67: Equations set for parameterization of winglet
The winglets final design consists on a tapered airfoil which decreases its size from the root of the same to the tip. The parameters used in the final design are as follows:
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Table 7: Final Winglet Parameters
Height Radius Cant Angle
0.4 meters 0.28 meters 70 degrees
Figure 68: Final Winglet Design
Figure 69: Winglet geometry parameterized in SolidWorks
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Figure 70: Blade final design with winglet isometric view
Figure 71: Blade with winglet mounted on one third hub
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Figure 72: Airfoil twist for blade geometry
Further detail on the final CAD design is included in the technical drawings in Appendix A.
5 CFD simulations
5.1 CFD modeling and setup in ANSYS Fluent
The computational fluid dynamics solver chosen for the project is ANSYS Fluent version 12.1. ANSYS is launched from the Workbench utility which allows the user to set up a case step-bystep in an ordered procedure.
5.1.1 Pre-processing
Figure 73: ANSYS Workbench project outline
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Figure 73 shows the project outline as it is seen in ANSYS Workbench. It can be observed that geometry is first imported in the project. This geometry can be loaded in several different formats, in our case the geometry was created in SolidWorks with parts and then put together as an assembly to be imported into ANSYS. After the geometry is loaded, then this is opened in ANSYS DesignModeler, where some changes are made to the geometry in order for the solver to recognize which domains are solid and which are fluid domains.
Figure 74: ANSYS DesignModeler
In order to simplify the CFD analysis and to save computational resources, the domain was designed as a 120 wedge model, assuming symmetry boundary conditions on the left and right sides of the domain. Moreover, since this an external flow problem, the geometry that is part of the wind turbine (as a solid) is suppressed from the model, and then the rest of the geometry domains is specified as an enclosure. This allows for the meshing utility to recognize that there is a body inside the enclosure and it is suppressed because only a surface mesh is needed for it. A volume mesh is not necessary in this case because we are only interested in obtaining results for flow conditions around the blade. If this was a structural mechanics problem or a fluid-structure interaction model, then a volume mesh would need to be created for the interior of the blade and its material properties would need to be specified.
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5.1.2 Domain decomposition
As it was previously stated, the domain was simplified to a 120 wedge. This assumes that flow conditions and effects on the blades are symmetrical to each other. The wind turbine considered for this project has three blades; hence the domain is one third of a full 360 domain that could be modeled for the entire turbine. Moreover, the mesh is composed of different named selections in ANSYS Meshing which correspond to the boundary conditions that will be implemented in ANSYS Fluent. These named selections allow for the naming of the faces of the mesh to be recognized with a specific name and be automatically assigned to the specified condition in ANSYS Fluent.
Figure 75: Named selections for left and right sides of the domain
The figure below shows the named selections for the inlet and outlet boundary conditions in ANSYS Fluent.
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Figure 76: Inlet and Outlet named selections
The following image also shows the boundary conditions for the wall blades. As it can be observed, only the surface mesh of the blade is considered in the model given the fact that the geometry of the blade was suppressed from the rest of the domain and the neighboring parts designed in SolidWorks were specified as enclosures.
Figure 77: Wall blade named selections
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5.1.3 Boundary conditions
The boundary conditions for the CFD model are set up following the literature research that was conducted for simulations that have been carried out for this type of simulation. Qunfeng et al. [24] published a paper with specific details on how a wind turbine simulation was set up in ANSYS Fluent. This proved to be an excellent resource in order to set up the model in Fluent given that this type of simulation can be exceptionally challenging. The model does not only involve the air flow conditions, but also periodicity and rotational machinery capabilities in order to correctly replicate the real-world situation for wind turbines.
Figure 78: Boundary conditions implemented in ANSYS Meshing as named selections
ANSYS Fluent has the ability to model fluid flow in complex geometries. Unlike other software used for wind turbine analysis (such as BEM based software), it does not need to use predetermined airfoil data for the prediction of the fluid flow, but instead solves the governing fluid equations at thousands or millions of positions, depending on the mesh density, on and around the blade in an iterative process. All the velocities, including the span wise velocity are taken into account. Hence the results by CFD methods such as Fluent are more realistic and precise than codes based on BEM theory. The inlet boundary conditions for the wind speed were set as a fixed uniform entrance velocity of 7 m/s. This reference velocity was taken from Qunfeng et al. [24] and it is higher than the cut-in speed specified on the Vestas V39 wind turbine specification data sheet. This means that if the Page | 76
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez wind inlet speed is higher than the cut-in speed, the wind turbine is withstanding a higher speed than the minimum necessary for the blades to rotate. As it was specified before, the whole domain was a third of a horizontally placed cylinder with only one blade inside, as shown in Figure 78. Each side of the domain was given periodic boundary conditions. This is also in accordance to the boundary conditions that were used by Digraskar in a comprehensive CFD study of wind turbines using OpenFOAM [25]. When periodic boundary conditions are used, it implied that the velocities going out of a shadow boundary (left symmetry boundary) can enter the boundary on the other side in an infinite loop. This setting is made under the assumption that the flow conditions on either side of the 120 wedge are fully symmetric. Figure 78 illustrates a typical application of periodic boundary conditions. In this example the flow entering the computational model through one periodic plane is identical to the flow exiting the domain through the opposite periodic plane.
Figure 79: Use of Periodic Boundaries to Define Swirling Flow in a Cylindrical Vessel
As it was explained before, the computational fluid dynamics simulations will be completed by solving the full Navier-Stokes equations for fluid flow. In order to correctly capture the turbulent flow structures as well as the vortices created at the tip of the blade close to the winglet. Given the literature research conducted on turbulence models and the available reference papers, the chosen turbulence model is the shear-stress transfer (SST) k- turbulence model. This model effectively uses the robust and accurate formulation of the k- model in the near wall region with the free-stream capabilities of the k- model in the far field. The transport equations for the SST k- model are shown as[24]:
5.1.4 Turbulence modeling
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( ) + ( ) = + + () + ( ) = + + + (87)
(88)
In these equations, represents the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to the mean velocity gradients. represents the generation of . and represent the effective diffusivity of k and . and represent dissipation of k and due to turbulence. represents the cross-diffusion term. and are user-defined source terms.
When defining the boundary conditions for the inlet turbulence parameters, the turbulence intensity was set to 1% and the length scale was set to 0.01, in order to better represent the incoming wind flow. This in agreement with what it can also be experimentally tested in a wind tunnel, since most of these will replicate flow at low turbulence only.
The rotational model for the wind turbine was set to steady state, multiple rotating frames (MRF) model. Given the extensive literature review that was done for this type of rotational flow, MRF has the advantage of being able to run a simulation at steady state and without a moving mesh as other methods. A moving grid application is transient and is much more computationally expensive given the fact that the mesh needs to be updated or rebuilt for each time step of the rotational motion. The prescribed rotational speed is at 120 rpm for the wind turbine, this in accordance to the velocity of the incoming flow and the tip speed ratio of the turbine [24]. Moreover, in the solution controls page for the ANSYS Fluent, the explicit under-relaxation factors were changed from the default values of 0.75 to 0.4 in order to help with convergence. The Courant number was set to 20. Also, the under-relaxation factors were taken to half of the default values in order to bring down the fluctuation of the residuals. The under-relaxation factors for turbulence were all set to 0.95. The pressure and velocity coupling was changed from the SIMPLE algorithm to the Coupled setting. This solver reduces the time to reach overall convergence, by solving momentum and pressure-based continuity equations in a coupled manner. Although there is a slight increase in memory requirements, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks of using this solver. The Coupled solver is increasingly becoming the solver of choice for subsonic applications.
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5.1.5 Results of CFD simulations
The results for the CFD simulations carried out using ANSYS Fluent are provided in this section. Figure 80 shows a plot for the residuals of the calculations for the continuity equation, velocity components as well as the turbulence parameters k and . The convergence of the results is directly related to this plot of the residuals for the items detailed above. The criteria or tolerance for convergence of residuals was set to 10-3 in order to achieve a fast result of the simulation. This is the default setting for ANSYS Fluent, however for most engineering applications, the convergence criteria for the residuals is set to 10-4. It was decided that 10-3 would provide enough accuracy given the objectives of this project. For a master's thesis or a doctoral dissertation, further accuracy needs to be obtained. However, from what is seen on the plot, the convergence of the residuals is done almost with no fluctuations and is achieved quite fast considering the complexity of the flow in this simulation. This means that the mesh that was constructed for this geometry is a good quality grid and the turbulence parameters chosen for the velocity inlet as well as the under-relaxation factors set in the solution controls in ANSYS Fluent were definitely chosen correctly.
Figure 80: Plot for residuals
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Figure 81: Statistics on parallel computations
Figure 81 shows the statistics of the computational time that was needed to complete the simulation. Total wall-clock time was less than 1 hours at 2488 seconds to complete the run. The purpose of showing this data is to emphasize the usefulness of running this type of simulations on a parallel computer such as the one available at the MAIDROC Laboratory at FIU. The simulations was run on 15 nodes, therefore the computations are parallelized to obtain results much more efficiently and exponentially faster. A simulation like this, if it was run on a serial computer would have taken many more hours to complete, most likely more than 1 day to achieve convergence at the specified criteria.
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez 5.1.5.1 Results without Winglet
Once the simulation was completed in ANSYS Fluent, the case and data file were saved and output to the corresponding folder. Later, these files were downloaded via secure ftp from the MAIDROC Tesla front end machine a local computer for post-processing of the data. The post-processing is done by using CFD-Post, which is the results visualization engine integrated in ANSYS Workbench. This comprehensive program allows to obtain contour plots, vector plots, streamlines and many other plots for computational fluid dynamics simulations. Other similar software in this category include Tecplot and ParaView.
Figure 82: Pressure contour plot on back of blade
Figure 82 and Figure 83 show the contour plots for the back and the front of the blade respectively. As expected, it can be observed that the pressure in the front of the blade is higher than on the back given the incoming air flow. Figure 84 shows the flow field for the entire three-bladed wind turbine. This image was achieved by using symmetry planes and by plotting vector for the velocity in the stationary frame. There are two frames in this simulation, the stationary and the rotational frame. The latter corresponds to the shroud of the blade and the blade itself which are rotating at the prescribed rotational speed. Page | 81
Figure 83: Pressure contour plot in front of blade
Figure 84: Flow field for entire wind turbine
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Figure 85: Vector plot around tip of blade without winglet showing vortices
Figure 85 shows the presence of a large vortex around the tip of the blade without a winglet. It can be observed that the structure of the vortex is situated on this location and is well structured within the flow of air. This is precisely the expected result from the CFD simulation. It can be seen that the velocity around the vortex shedding is 56.68 m/s . This gives an idea of how vortices are formed at the tip of the wind turbine blade at a real scale. For the simulation with the winglet, it was expected to see a slightly smaller vortex around the tip of the blade, and perhaps see it moved down and away from the blade in order to provide higher velocity of rotation for the blade by decreasing the drag created by these vortices.
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Figure 86: Symmetric flow conditions for all three blades
Similarly for the results without winglet, Figure 87and Figure 88 provide the contour plots for the front and back of the blade with winglet. For further detail, Figure 89 and Figure 90 show the pressure contour on the leading edge of the blade as well as the pressure difference on the winglet. This is an expected result since the winglet reduced vortices around the tip of the blade, hence there will be a higher pressure difference resulting from this alteration in the flow conditions, not only on the surface of the blade but also downstream of the flow. Figures 92 through 94 shows the velocity contour plots behind the blades and across the airfoil. It can be observed the high velocity on the leading edge of the airfoil and also on the lower end of the airfoil where most of the lift is produced.
5.1.5.2 Results with winglet
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Figure 87: Pressure contour in front of blade
Figure 88: Pressure contour for the back of the blade
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Figure 89: Pressure contour on leading edge of blade
Figure 90: Pressure contour on proximity to winglet
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Figure 91: Pressure contour
Figure 92: Velocity contour plot behind blade
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Figure 93: Velocity contour plot behind blades using symmetry planes
Figure 94: Velocity contour plot around blade airfoil close to root
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Figure 95: Vector plot for velocity close to blade winglet
Figure 95 shows one of the most important plots for this project. This is a vector velocity plot for the flow directly downstream from the tip of the blade with winglet. It can be observed that the vortex is no longer well structured as when the blade is implemented without winglet. The vortex is split into two smaller vortices and one of them is moved away from the tip of the blade. There is a slightly higher velocity on this area at approximately 56.83 m/s. This is definitely a result that was expected to happen given the objectives of this project. The winglet design that has been implemented can effectively reduce the size of the vortices around the tip the blade and even move away these turbulent structures away or further downstream of the flow in order to decrease the drag on the blades produced by these structures. Figure 98 provides a zoomed in image of the velocity vector plot close to the winglet in order to see how the winglet alters the flow conditions at the tip of the blade.
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Figure 96: Vector plot for velocity in the entire domain using symmetry
Figure 97: Symmetric flow conditions for all three blades with winglet
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Figure 98: Close up on vortices moving away from tip of blade by using winglets
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6 Timeline and Team Responsibilities

The responsibilities for each team member are described in Table 8, as well as the start and end date for each task. The project tasks have been equally divided among the members of the team in order to have better project management and for the purpose of learning throughout this thesis, some of the major tasks will be developed jointly in order for all the members to acquire knowledge on any specifics such as the CFD and optimization processes. This can be of great use in other project throughout the engineers career. Figure 99 presents the Gantt chart for a graphical overview of the project tasks and time management.
Table 8: Breakdown of tasks for Senior Design Project Task 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Description Literature review Blade conceptual designs Blade preliminary design Proposed design Task Lead Juancarlo Rodriguez Juancarlo Rodriguez Rinaldo Galdamez Rinaldo Galdamez Rinaldo Galdamez Diego Moreno Diego Moreno All All All All All All All All Start Date 1/10/2011 3/23/2011 3/23/2011 4/13/2011 4/13/2011 4/20/2011 5/20/2011 7/20/2011 8/20/2011 9/17/2011 10/10/2011 10/21/2011 9/17/2011 10/3/2011 4/6/2011 End Date 3/23/2011 4/13/2011 4/20/2011 4/20/2011 5/20/2011 7/20/2011 8/20/2011 9/17/2011 10/1/2011 10/21/2011 11/11/2011 10/1/2011 10/7/2011 4/6/2011 4/6/2011 Duration (days) 72 14 14 7 7 7
Winglet conceptual designs Initial CFD and FEA analysis CFD simulations
Juancarlo Rodriguez
Training on analytical methods
CFD model setup and boundary conditions CFD post-processing and analysis Optimization of designs FEA of final optimal design Wind tunnel testing Report completion
5/6/2011
5/6/2011
16 14 61 31 14 14 14 14 11 21 4
Rapid prototyping and manufacturing Construction of testing setup Test results analysis
9/3/2011
9/3/2011
Diego Moreno
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Figure 99: Senior Design Project Gantt chart
Page | 93
7 Prototype, Testing and Cost Analysis

7.1 Wind tunnel testing
The need of testing a scale model of the wing turbine with the winglets implemented on a wind tunnel arises when Computational Fluid Dynamics software leave an uncertainty level in the results obtained. The only feasible way to corroborate the results obtained from the simulations is to test it in real-life conditions. Wind tunnels take advantage of an aerodynamic phenomenon that simplifies and reduce the cost of the test. In the case of the body immersed on a fluid, the pressure on the surface of the body and the forces that result from those pressures are the same regardless of whether the body is stationary and the air is moving or the air is stationary and the body is moving through it. As long as the relative motion is identical, the aerodynamic forces will be the same. Under this theory, the Reynolds Number Re of the fluid inside the wind tunnel and the Reynolds Number of the full scale condition must remain equal. The prototype and the full scale model must be immersed in the same fluid for it to work. We can recall that Re depends on the velocity of the fluid and the length of the object. So if the fluid remains constant, the relationship between the prototype and the full scale model must remain constant if the velocity and length are well selected. Wind tunnels are classified into two main categories; they can be open circuit or closed circuit. Open circuit refers to a tunnel in which the air passes through a basically straight duct and does not recirculate.
Figure 100: Open Circuit Wind Tunnel
This type of tunnel is cheaper and is commonly used in experiments where clean and fresh air is needed to test the prototype. In the other hand, closed circuit wind tunnels employ a duct which guides the air around a closed path, resulting in air continually recirculating through the test section.
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Figure 101: Closed Circuit Wind Tunnel
The experimental testing of a small scaled wind turbine was achieved by Merchant et al. [8]. The researchers tested three different blade configurations, one without winglets and two with winglets as part of the blade design. The setup for this experiment is similar to what will be used for this project. The wind turbine blades were manufactured using a rapid 3D prototyping machine. The testing equipment consisted of: Four pole stepper motor (used as generator) Four Schottky diodes 1 capacitor Instruments
Figure 102: Testing equipment circuit schematic[8].
The circuit schematic is shown in Figure 102, and it can be observed that this setup is fairly simple to replicate. The voltage and current are measured and the power is calculated. The researchers have found that for two different winglet configurations, there was an increase in the power generated by the turbine. One increase was of 2.76% and the other was 6.23%.
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Figure 103: Testing setup for scaled wind turbine[8]
Although the CFD results presented in the available literature are not higher than 3% increase in mechanical power output, it is expected that similar results can be obtained[7]. It must be taken into account that the CFD simulation was performed on a full-sized wind turbine, whereas the 6.23% increase was at a small scale. Also, there is a certain loss for the conversion of mechanical power to electrical power.
7.1.1 Calculation of parameters and scaling for wind tunnel testing
Building a scale sized prototype becomes a challenge depending on the selected scale. Since the prototype has to fit inside a fixed dimension wind tunnel, the size of the prototype is limited by such dimensions. Embry Riddle Aeronautical Universitys wind tunnel is to be used for this experiment, and its test section dimensions are 30x40 inches (76x102 cm). Another constraint given by the wind tunnel test is that the Reynolds number has to be maintained constant in the transition from the real size to the scaled model. To calculate the necessary test parameters, recall Reynolds number equation:
=
(89)
Before conducting calculations, consider as the actual size Reynolds number, and as the test size Reynolds number. For the test to be realistic in numerical terms, must be equal to . Therefore the following expression is derived:
= =
(90) (91)
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The wind conditions for the computation of both and are Standard Day Conditions, so the difference between them becomes the D term of the equation stating the characteristic length, meaning the airfoil cord length in the scope of this project. The chord length used is the largest in the whole blade, which is = 1.90 . The wind speed at the airfoil is calculated using the previously given equation:
2 (1 )2 + 2 2 (1 + )2 =
(92)
where = r/R, r is the local length of the blade along the span and R is the total length of the blade. The velocity given by this calculation is then used to calculate the Reynolds number for the real scale which allows us to calculate the wind speed necessary in the scaled model testing in order to maintain realistic results, given that a scale for the prototype has been chosen, and a scaled model maximum chord length is available. The maximum wind speed attained by the ERAU tunnel is 160 ft/s, which is taken in consideration when calculating the wind aerodynamic effect on the scaled model.
1 (1 ) = 3 2 2
(93)
7.2 Materials
In the construction of the prototype, the materials taken in consideration are directly related with the testing environment and the manufacturing process. Nowadays the most common material use in the construction of wind turbine blades is fiberglass, due to its combination of high strength and light weight. In a scaled prototype, fiberglass does not help in weight reduction neither in price reduction, due to the small size of the prototype. A lighter type of plastic resin is chosen, and it is called Somos NanoTool. This resin is selected after a comparison process between resistant plastics taking into consideration price range and the detail that could be achieved in the finished prototype.
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Table 9: Comparison of materials
NanoTool is able to provide a smooth surface quality and high initial modulus, making it an excellent resin for metal plating, or to be used alone. It is also ideal for creating strong, stiff parts that need to resist high temperatures, including wind tunnel models for aerospace and automotive applications. A third major application area is rapid tooling for injection molding.
MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS Polyjet instead of Much higher resolution, fantastic for extremely small FDM intricate parts such as gears, text and features with details smaller than 0.020" Polyjet instead of Parts are smooth without any sanding or vapor honing, thus SLA more accurate when immediately used for fit. Small Polyjet parts are often a fraction of the price of the same SLA parts, have much faster leadtimes, finer details & smoother features. Polyjet instead of Polyjet offers very fast multiples on smaller parts with Urethane Casted intricate features, yet cost a fraction of the price per part. Parts Elastomer/Rubber parts (although not as strong) can be delivered within one to two days and eliminate the costly mold. Somos NanoTool NanoTool produces strong, stiff, high temperature resistant composite parts on conventional stereolithography machines. This material is heavily filled with noncrystalline nanoparticles allowing for faster processing. It provides superior sidewall quality, along with excellent detail resolution as compared to other composite stereolithography materials. The prototype using this material is built in .004 layers.
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The mechanical properties for the NanoTool material can be found in the following table.
Table 10: Technical specifications
ASTM Method D638M
D790M D256A D2240 D570-98
Somos NanoTool UV Poscure Mechanical Properties (Metric) Description Tensile Strength 61.7 - 78.0 MPa Tensile Modulus 11,000 - 11,400 MPA Elongation at Break 0.7 - 1.0 % Poissons Ratio 0.34 - 0.38 Flexural Strength 79 - 121 MPa Flexural Modulus 10,200 - 10,800 MPa Izod Impact-Notched 0.12 - 0.15 J/cm Hardness (Shore D) 94 Water Absorption 0.23%
Further details on the materials and the quotes from different vendors are included in Appendix C.
7.3 Prototype Design
The design of the original wind turbine had to be modified and adapted for the wind tunnel testing. In the components modified we can find the hub and the blade, and in the components created we can find a T-mount coupler that will adapt the electric motor with the blades and the hub. The prototype designed maintains only the aerodynamic functionality of the real size model, meaning that the inner structure of the wind turbine is not built or considered in building a scaled size model, due to the high complexity this involves. In reality, a wind turbine includes many mechanical controlling components that directly affect the conditions of operation of a real wind turbine as it was previously shown in Figure 11(b), but for the scope of this project, these conditions are fixed to the most effective conditions as directed by previous research. The conditions kept constant in the scaled model are blade pitch and yaw, the shaft is directly connected to the generator since there is not a gearbox, and the speed of the system is given by the wind speed, since no brakes are implemented in the scaled model. The designed prototype is a modification of the real size wind turbine, not changing aerodynamic functionality but only structural composition, in order to obtain a prototype suitable for wind tunnel testing. The components modified include the hub and the blade, and also a T-mount coupler was created. The T-mount is used to engage the electric motor with the blades and the hub. Page | 99
Figure 104: Prototype Wind Turbine
The T-Mount is the part that will join the blades with the hub. The design is shown in Figure 105.
Figure 105: T-Mount
The T-Mount will be mounted to a hexagonal nut that will work as a mechanical transmission between the rotational motion of the blades and the electric generator. The assembly of the TMount and the blades is shown in Figure 106.
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Figure 106: T-Mount and Blade Assembly
The electric generator that will be used for transformation of rotational energy into electric energy will be a Parallax 4-Phase / 12 Volt Unipolar Stepper Motor. It is shown in Figure 106.
Figure 107: Parallax Stepper Motor
The electric motor shaft is connected through an aluminum single set screw, which at the same time includes the inch diameter bolt where the blade assembly will be mounted. Figure 108 shows the one set screw with the bolt in place. Page | 101
Figure 108: Single Set Screw
The blade has also been modified, it includes a portion that will couple with the T-Mount, and it is shown in Figure 109.
Figure 109: Blade
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The hub is also different in only one small feature; it now includes a threaded hole that will attach it to the T-Mount, the single set screw and the generator.
Figure 110: Hub
The technical drawings for the prototype are included in Appendix D.
7.4 Prototype Assembly Costs

Part No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
The actual cost for the manufacturing of the prototype is included in Table 11.
Table 11: Cost of parts and supplies
Description Quantity Set of blades with winglets 1 Set of blades without winglets 1 Set of T-mount, nose cone 1 Mounting tower 1 Wind turbine support 1 Wiring and other misc. 1 Parallax 4-phase stepper motor 1 Schottky diode 4 5000 F capacitor 1 Decade Power Resistor Box 1 OMEGA multimeter 1 ERAU wind tunnel testing (hours) 3 Total
Unit Price $ 250.00 $ 250.00 $ 160.00 $ 100.00 $ 6.00 $ 60.00 $ 12.99 $ 1.00 $ 1.00 $ 350.00 $ 29.00 $ 200.00
Total Price $ 250.00 $ 250.00 $ 160.00 $ 100.00 $ 6.00 $ 60.00 $ 12.99 $ 4.00 $ 1.00 $ 350.00 $ 29.00 $ 600.00 $ 1,822.99
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7.5 FEA study for prototype prior to wind tunnel testing
One of the main concerns with the prototype assembly was to ensure that the material and the design would withhold the forces created by the wind tunnel. Hence, an FEA study was conducted using SolidWorks COSMOS in order to analyze the stresses, deflections and factor of safety (FOS) in the assembly. The results are presented in the following figures. In order to select the right material for the prototype, and FEA study was performed to validate that the selected material will stand the large amount of stresses and deformations due to the wind speeds and centrifugal force. In order to produce an accurate FEA study of the prototype, a computational fluid dynamics simulation had to be done to input realistic wind pressures and velocities. The CFD analysis setup consisted on the scaled wind turbine assembly in an external computational environment, simulating the case of the prototype sitting on an open site with no wall restrictions around.
Figure 111: Computational Domain for the Wind Turbine Prototype
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The calculation were done in SolidWorks due to its simplicity and fast results, also sue to its great integration with a trustable FEA analysis system. The analysis type for the FEA study was set as external type, indicating that the fluid domain consist of everything surrounding the turbine, and that the pressures around it are all atmospheric. Also, in order to simulate the rotation of the wind turbine, the domain was set with a rotational behavior. The rotation was set around the Z axis with an angular velocity of 94.25 rad/sec which corresponds approximately to 900 rpm, the speed of the rotor in tests performed at the FIU Transport Phenomena Lab. The domain was set as a global rotating domain, which indicates that the whole fluid domain will rotate.
Figure 112: SolidWorks CFD Study Settings
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The fluid selected for the study was air, with its original properties included in the SW library, and the fluid type was set as turbulent due to the high Reynolds Number obtained in the calculations. As an initial condition, some velocity parameters were included simulating the real wind speed obtained at the FIU Transport Phenomena Lab. The wind speed was set at 18.8 m/s, specifically in the Z direction. Turbulence parameters were left with their default values.
Figure 113: SolidWorks CFD Study Settings
Since in the prototype the parts that are of more concern are the blades, these were set as real walls, simulating the interaction with the fluid. Everything else in the wind turbine assembly was ignored due to the lack of relevance in the CFD simulation. The next step involves the creation of the mesh; this was set at level 5 in the scale that SolidWorks provide without any further change in its default settings. This completes the setup of the prototype so it can be set to run to obtain the desired results. Page | 106
Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez Since the results are saved in .fld format there is no need of further interaction with the CFD interface, everything can be imported into the FEA study and SolidWorks will take care of the pressures and velocities created by the fluid. For illustration purposes the images of the CFD study are shown below.
Figure 114: CFD Study for the Prototype
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Figure 115: CFD Study for the Prototype, Pressure Profile
With the CFD done, the structural analysis if the blade can be started. Since the parts of the assembly that is important for this study is only the blades, to simplify the problem and reduce the calculation time, the other parts of the assembly were ignored from the structural study. To simulate the connection between the blade and the t-mount, the root of the prototype blade was set as fix.
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Figure 116: Fixed Components in Blade Prototype
The loads applied to the components in the study are the pressure of the fluid and the centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the system. The pressure of the fluid is loaded from the previous CFD study. This file will include all the data needed to calculate the stresses and strains in the model. In the case of the centrifugal force, the rotation speed was set to 94.27 rad/s which correspond to 900 rpm. Since there is no other important source of loads in the system the mesh can be created. The mesh was created with a superfine specification for a higher accuracy in the calculations.
Figure 117: Mesh for Structural Analysis
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez The same procedure was done for both cases, the prototype that include winglets and the prototype that comes with a regular blade.
7.5.1 FEA Results
In the case of the turbine without the winglets the results for the analysis are as follows. 7.5.1.1 Results without winglet implementation
Figure 118: Von Mises Stresses without Winglet Implementation
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Figure 119: Deflection without Winglet Implementation
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Figure 120: Strain without Winglet Implementation Table 12: Max and Min Stresses, Displacement and Strains for No Winglet Configuration
Name Type Min Max -5 2 Stress VON: von Mises Stress 6.94223 x 10 N/m 271496 N/m2 Displacement URES: Resultant Displacement 0 mm 0.0608007 mm -8 Strain ESTRN: Equivalent Strain 2.10725 x 10 3.01639 x 10-5
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez 7.5.1.2 Results with winglet
The results for the case of the blades with the implemented winglet are as follows.
Figure 121: Von Mises Stress with Winglet Implementation
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Figure 122: Displacement with Winglet Implementation
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Figure 123: Strain with Winglet Implementation Table 13: Max and Min Stresses, Displacement and Strains for Winglet Configuration
Name Stress Strain
Type VON: von Mises Stress
Min 0.000153018 N/m2 2.70108 x 10-8 0 mm
Max 0.0653411 mm 3.01695 x 10-5 387655 N/m2
Displacement URES: Resultant Displacement ESTRN: Equivalent Strain
One of the most important differences between the case with no winglet in the blades, and the case with the winglets implemented, is the substantial increase of Von Mises stresses in the blade. The increase is approximately 100 kPA more in the case with the winglets implemented. This high concentration of stresses is specifically located in the winglet. It can be concluded that give the material chosen, the prototype will withstand the testing that would be performed at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. The deflection is practically zero and the FOS is much higher than expected. The design is safe for testing at the wind tunnel facility. Page | 115
7.6 Test Results
As it is has been stated in previous sections, the motivation of this project is to enhance the productivity of a horizontal axis wind turbine by implementing and optimizing winglets in the tips of each blade. This implementation had not only to be simulated, build and tested, but also to be proven efficient and actually beneficial to the operation of a wind turbine. The objective of this project considered an estimated improvement in amount of wind energy production ranging between 1% and 3%. The results of the wind tunnel test compare the power generation of a wind turbine with winglet, and of a wind turbine without winglet. The side-by-side comparison of the two tests can be seen in Figure 124.
60000 45000 40000 30000 25000 Load () 20000 15000 10000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 0.04 0.045 Power Generated (W)
No Winglet
With Winglet
Figure 124: Average improvement
On average, the improvement on the amount of power generation resulting from the implementation of a winglet is 1.57%. This percentage has been calculated by comparing the results of 4 tests conducted in each of the two wind turbine configurations. The amount of improvement is given as a function of the electrical load specified for teach turbine configuration on each test. The comparison between the resultant improvement and the load at each step of the test is given numerically by Table 14 and graphically by Figure 125.
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Table 14: Load vs. % Improvement
Resistance 1000 2000 3000 4000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 40000 45000 60000 Average
8.00% 7.00% 6.00%
% Improvement 1.23% 0.17% 0.76% 0.51% 1.61% 0.54% 1.42% 0.46% 0.53% 2.37% 1.80% 7.48% 1.57%
Improvement
5.00% 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% 1.00% 0.00%
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
Load ()
Figure 125: Load vs. % Improvement
A complete table of testing results can be found in Appendix E.
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8 Conclusions and Recommendations

The winglet design process must come after an implementation of an optimized blade design that will be used to compare the improvement of a system with winglets over one without them. The blade design of a wind turbine differs from an airplane wing design. Airplane wings usually have one airfoil design through all the length of the wing, in the case of wind turbines, around three or four different airfoil profiles are used in the same blade varying from the root to the tip of the wind. Also, another important difference can be found in the twist angle of a wind turbine blade. The blade is twisted in an special and optimized manner through the length of the blade, this do not happens on an airplane wing. These differences make the analysis of a wind turbine blade more complicated than usual. Software and techniques used in airplane design must be altered in accordance to the needs. For this study, several software packages were used independently to create and obtain an optimal blade design. The specific packages used include XFOIL, QBLADE, SolidWorks 2010 and ANSYS Fluent 12.1. The blade design process was very time consuming, methods and techniques are being refined in order to produce fastest and more reliable designs. The implementation of the mentioned software packages reduces largely the load of the design process, and several other packages are in way to be implemented to improve the blade design and the calculations as much as possible. It has been shown that winglets can effectively improve the performance of a conventional tip wind turbine blade. The results are in agreement with published research. This opens an area of analysis for other students to explore and further analyze with different winglet and blade designs which may lead to higher performance. As recommendations, larger scale testing can be conducted at the Wall of Wind facility at Florida International University, which would provide better flow conditions in order to correctly compare the scaled prototype to the real scale wind turbine. Also, given the constant fluctuation of current and voltage output from the wind turbine prototype, the use of data acquisition systems (DAQ) is recommended.
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9 Acknowledgements
The wind turbine winglet design team would like to thank Mr. Richard Zicarelli, from the FIU Engineering Manufacturing Center for his help with manufacturing the coupler and stepper motor mount for the prototype. Prof. Snorri Gudmundsson, from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University who was very helpful and available to arrange the wind tunnel testing. Mr. Stephen Wood and Dr. Agerneh Dagnew, graduates from the Mechanical Engineering and the Civil Engineering departments respectively for their friendship and excellent guidance, brainstorming, ideas and good humor in the field of computational fluid dynamics and computational meshing. Mr. Nader Fateh for his help in learning the use of modeFRONTIER software for optimization purposes. Ms. Catherine Alviz, Mr. Carlos Sousa, and Mr. Victor Polanco, all Electrical Engineering students and amazing friends who supported us and provided their assistance in setting up the electrical circuitry for the prototype. Dr. George Dulikravich, Dr. Igor Tsukanov and Dr. Sabri Tosunoglu for their guidance, mentorship, help and thoughtful discussions on this project, mechanical engineering and lifelong learning. Most importantly, thank you to our families, loved ones and close friends who gave us unconditional support throughout this project and our undergraduate careers.
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References
[1] U.S. Department of Energy- EERE, "20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply," Golden, CO, 2008. [2] E. F. Baerwald, G. H. D'Amours, B. J. Klug and R. M. Barclay, "Barotrauma is a significant cause of bat fatalities at wind turbines," Current Biology, vol. 18, no. 16, August 2008. [3] Wikimedia Foundation Inc., April http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingtip_device. 2011. [Online]. Available:
[4] Global Wind Energy Council, March 2011. [Online]. Available: http://www.gwec.net/fileadmin/documents/Publications/GWEC_PRstats_02-022011_final.pdf. [5] M. Gaunaa and J. Johansen, "Determination of the Maximum Aerodynamic Efficiency of Wind Turbine Rotors with Winglets," Journal of Physics: Conference Series, vol. 75, 2007. [6] J. Johansen and N. N. Sorensen, "Aerodynamic investigation of Winglets on Wind Turbine Blades using CFD," Roskilde, 2006. [7] J. Johansen and N. N. Sorensen, "Numerical Analysis of Winglets on Wind Turbine Blades using CFD," in European Wind Energy Conference, Milan, 2007. [8] J. S. Merchant, J. M. Bondy and K. W. Van Treuren, "Wind tunnel analysis of a wind turbine with winglets," in ASME Early Career Technical Conference, Tulsa, 2010. [9] P. M. Congedo and M. G. De Giorgi, "Optimizing of a wind turbine rotor by CFD modeling," in ANSYS Italy Conference , Mestre, 2008. [10] M. O. Hansen, Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines, 2 ed., Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2008. [11] T. Burton, D. Sharpe, N. Jenkins and E. Bossanyi, Wind Energy Handbook, 1 ed., West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2001. [12] P. Gipe, April 2011. [Online]. Available: http://www.wind-works.org/photos/SmithPutnamPhotos.html. [13] Danish Wind Industry Association, April http://guidedtour.windpower.org/en/pictures/juul.htm. 2011. [Online]. Available:
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Design Optimization of Winglets for Wind Turbine Rotor Blades R.G. Galdamez, D. Moreno, J. Rodriguez [14] Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., April http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine_design. 2011. [Online]. Available:
[15] U.S. Department of Energy- EERE, March http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/budget.html.
2011.
[Online].
Available:
[16] U.S. Department of Energy, April 2011. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/m/budget.html.
[Online].
Available:
[17] U.S. Department of Energy, April 2011. [Online]. http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_installed_capacity.asp. [18] Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., April http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine. 2011. [Online].
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Available:
[19] J. F. Manwell, J. G. McGowan and A. L. Rogers, Wind Energy Explained: Theory, Design and Application, 2 ed., West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. [20] U.S. Department of Energy, April 2011. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_how.html. [Online]. Available:
[21] M. D. Maughmer, "The design of winglets for high-performance sailplanes," 2001. [22] J. L. Tangler and D. M. Somers, "NREL Airfoil Families for HAWTs," Golden, 1995. [23] Anonymous MIT Students, "Wind Turbine Blade Design Optimization," Cambridge, 2011. [24] L. Qunfeng, J. Chen, J. Chen, N. Qin and L. A. Danao, "Study of CFD simulation of a 3-D wind turbine," in International Conference for Renewable Energy & Environment (ICMREE), Shangai, 2011. [25] D. Digraskar, "Simulations of Flow over Wind Turbines," University of Massachussets Amherst, May 2010.
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Appendix A: Technical Drawings for Wind Turbine
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UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED:

DIMENSIONS ARE IN INCHES TOLERANCES: FRACTIONAL ANGULAR: MACH BEND TWO PLACE DECIMAL THREE PLACE DECIMAL
PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DRAWING IS THE SOLE PROPERTY OF <INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE>. ANY REPRODUCTION IN PART OR AS A WHOLE WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF <INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE> IS PROHIBITED. INTERPRET GEOMETRIC TOLERANCING PER: MATERIAL FINISH
NAME DRAWN CHECKED ENG APPR. MFG APPR. Q.A. COMMENTS:
DATE
TITLE:
NREL Blade 400 kW Family -With Winglet

SIZE DWG. NO. REV
NEXT ASSY APPLICATION
USED ON
DO NOT SCALE DRAWING
SCALE: 1:128 WEIGHT:

2 1
SHEET 1 OF 1
Appendix B: Vestas V39 Technical specifications
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Experts in Wind Power & Planning
V39 Wind Turbine Technical Specification
OVERVIEW A 500kW medium sized wind turbine suitable for powering larger farms, community projects and commercial properties. PERFORMANCE The energy capture of the Vestas V39 turbine is exceptionally good across a wide range of wind speeds and comes installed on a 40m freestanding tower for maximum energy capture. RELIABILITY The Vestas V39 turbine is intended for a range of harsh conditions, especially exposed locations. The remaining design life of these machines is in excess of 20 years.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
Generator Rating Rotor Speed Cut-in Wind Speed Survival wind speed Rotor diameter Rotor orientation Number of blades Blade material Control system Gearbox Brakes Generator Yaw control Tower height Tower 500kW @ 16 m/s 30 rpm nominal 4.5 m/s 50 m/s 39m Upwind 3 Fibreglass/polyester Pitch controlled Planetary/helical Disc Asynchronous Powered 40m Free standing
PERFORMANCE
At a particular location, the wind speed will vary about an annual mean value. The expected energy yields for the Vestas V39 at various annual wind speeds (AMWS) is shown below: AMWS m/s 4 5 6 7 8 9 Annual MWh 255 552 785 1114 1672 1999 Daily kWh 699 1512 2151 3052 4581 5477
Note: The annual electricity consumption of a medium size home is in the region of 46MWh or 11-16 kWh per day. At 6 m/s wind speed the Vestas V39 can provide the annual energy needs for 190 homes.
WIND PIONEER LTD BATCHWORTH HOUSE, BATCHWORTH PLACE, CHURCH STREET RICKMANSWORTH HERTS WD3 1JE TEL: 0800 955 3838 COMPANY NO. 07148454 TEL: 0800 9655 3838 info@windpioneer.co.uk www.windpioneer.co.uk
V39 Wind Turbine Technical Specification

Halus Power Systems are the USAs leading supplier of remanufactured wind turbines, specialising in turbines originally produced by Vestas. They have been manufacturing turbines for 10 years at there 5 acre facility in San Leandro, California. All turbines comes with a standard 5 year parts warranty and an expected life of 20yrs+ Wind Turbine Controller All turbines come with a new advanced controller. Some of the features of our controllers are: Advanced soft-start motor control with user definable thyristor trigger angle and cut in slope Automatic motor start Power factor control including user definable delay for capacitor connection and capacitor discharging Wind Pioneer is meeting the ne time Web-based TCP/IP control and monitoring system which can also be used on site Top box for ease of maintenance and service

Wind Pioneer is committed to the production of clean affordable energy with these remanufactured and upgraded wind turbines. Wind Pioneer is the exclusive distributor and installer for the Vestas V39 turbine, remanufactured by Halus Power Systems, which is the most efficient and cost effective in its class. The Vestas V39 wind turbine generates exceptional levels of power for its size, but is remarkably quiet. Wind Pioneer can supply, install and support the Vestas V39 turbine to help power semirural domestic properties and many more applications. Wind Pioneer works in partnership with site owners, financiers, suppliers and other stakeholders to guide projects through the process and beyond. Wind Pioneer also sells a range of larger turbines for less power hungry applications.
WIND PIONEER LTD BATCHWORTH HOUSE, BATCHWORTH PLACE, CHURCH STREET RICKMANSWORTH HERTS WD3 1JE TEL: 0800 955 3838 COMPANY NO. 07148454 TEL: 0800 9655 3838 info@windpioneer.co.uk www.windpioneer.co.uk
Appendix C: Material and Supplies Quotes
Page | 124
P430 ABS Material Properties

A true industrial thermoplastic, ABS is widely used throughout industry. When combined with a Dimension Elite system, P430 ABS is ideal for 3D printing of models in the engineering office. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES 1
Tensile Strength, Type 1, 2 in/min (51 mm/min), 0.125 Tensile Modulus, Type 1, 2 in/min (51 mm/min), 0.125 Tensile Elongation, Type 1, 2 in/mm 51 mm/min, 0.125 Flexural Delamination Flexural Strength Flexural Modulus IZOD Impact, Notched, 73F (23 C) Test Method ASTM D638 ASTM D638 ASTM D638 Stratasys Standard ASTM D790 ASTM D790 ASTM D 256 Imperial 5,295 psi 329,499 psi 4% 5,142 psi 7,604 psi 319,737 psi 1.8 ft-lb/in Metric 36 MPa 2,272 MPa 4% 35 MPa 52 MPa 2,204 MPa 96 J/m
THERMAL PROPERTIES
Heat Deflection Temperature 3 unannealed HDT, 66 psi (0.5 MPa) HDT, 264 psi (1.8 MPa) Melt Point ASTM D648 204 F 180 F Not Applicable 2 96 C 82C Not Applicable
OTHER
Specific Gravity Vertical Burning Test3 Coefficient of Thermal Expansion3 1.04 HB, UL94 4.9E-05
APPEARANCE
Natural
Stratasys, Inc. 14950 Martin Drive Eden Prairie, MN USA 55344 Ph: 952.937.3000 Fax: 952.937.0070 www.dimensionprinting.com
The information presented are typical values intended for reference and comparison purposes only. They should not be used for design specifications or quality control purposes. End-use material performance can be impacted (+/-) by, but not limited to, part design, end-use conditions, test conditions, etc. Actual values will vary with build conditions. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.
1 2
Build orientation is on side edge Due to amorphous nature, material does not display a melting point 3 Injection molded properties P430 ABS Material Properties 9 March 2007
DSM Somos
Somos NanoTool
Third Generation ProtoComposite Material for High Strength, High Temperature Applications
Description NanoTool produces strong, stiff, high temperature resistant composite parts on conventional stereolithography machines. This third generation of Somos ProtoComposite materials is heavily filled with non-crystalline nanoparticles allowing for faster processing. It exhibits superior sidewall quality, along with excellent detail resolution as compared to other composite stereolithography materials. Application NanoTools smooth surface quality and high initial modulus make it an excellent resin for metal plating, a growing application which saves time and money as an alternative to fully metal prototypes. Its also ideal for creating strong, stiff parts that need to resist high temperatures, including wind tunnel models for aerospace and automotive applications. A third major application area is rapid tooling for injection molding.
Somos DSM Somos 1122 St. Charles Street Elgin, IL 60120 USA Tel: 800.223.7191 (in USA) Tel: 847.697.0400 (outside USA) Fax: 847.468.7785 DSM Desotech bv 3150 AB Hoek van Holland The Netherlands Tel: +31 1743.15391 Fax: +31 1743.15530 www.dsmsomos.com Email: Americas@dsmsomos.info
Physical Properties Liquid Appearance Off White Viscosity ~2,500 cps at 30C Density ~1.65 g/cm3 at 25C Optical Properties at 355 nm Ec 8.3 mJ/cm2
[critical exposure]
Dp E10
0.11 mm (0.0043 inches)

[slope of cure-depth vs. ln(E) crve] [exposure that gives 0.254 mm (0.010 inch) thickness]
84 mJ/cm2
Europe@dsmsomos.info Asia@dsmsomos.info
2/08
Mechanical Properties (Metric)

ASTM Method
.
Description Tensile Strength Tensile Modulus Elongation at Break Poissons Ratio
Somos NanoTool UV Postcure 61.7 - 78.0 MPa 11,000 - 11,400 MPA 0.7 - 1.0 % 0.34 - 0.38 79 - 121 MPa 10,200 - 10,800 MPa 0.12 - 0.15 J/cm 94 0.23 %
Somos NanoTool UV & Thermal Postcure 66.3 - 80.3 MPa 10,400 - 11,200 MPa 0.7 - 1.0 % 0.29 - 0.36 103 - 149 MPa 9,960 MPa - 10,200 MPa 0.14 - 0.16 J/cm 94 0.15 - 0.16 %
N/A: Not Available
D638M
D790M
Flexural Strength Flexural Modulus Izod Impact-Notched Hardness (Shore D) Water Absorption
D256A D2240 D570-98
Thermal & Electrical Properties (Metric)

ASTM Method E831-00 Description C. T. E. -40C 0C C. T. E. 0C 50C C. T. E. 50C 100C C. T. E. 100C 150C D150-98 Dielectric Constant 60Hz Dielectric Constant 1KHz Dielectric Constant 1MHz D149-97a E1545-00 D648-98c Dielectric Strength Tg HDT@ 0.46 MPa HDT @ 1.82 MPa Somos NanoTool UV Postcure 25.3 - 26.0 m/m-C 30.4 - 32.4 m/m-C 75.9 - 87.4 m/m-C 90.0 - 95.7 m/m-C 4.0 3.9 3.6
15.6 - 16.8 kV/mm
Somos NanoTool UV & Thermal Postcure 25.0 - 25.7 m/m-C 25.5 - 31.3 m/m-C 57.0 - 58.9 m/m-C 95.2 - 99.6 m/m-C 3.9 3.8 3.6
16.1 - 16.9 kV/mm
57 - 62 C 225 C 85 - 90 C
86 - 89 C 258 - 263 C 104 C

N/A: Not Available
The ProtoFunctional Materials Company
2/08
DSM Somos
DSM
Mechanical Properties (Imperial)

ASTM Method
.
Description Tensile Strength Tensile Modulus Elongation at Break Poissons Ratio
Somos NanoTool UV Postcure 8.9 - 11.3 ksi 1,590 - 1,650 ksi 0.7 -1.0 % 0.34 -0.38 11.5 - 17.5 ksi 1,480 - 1,570 ksi 0.23 - 0.29 ft-lb/in 93 - 95 0.23 %
Somos NanoTool UV & Thermal Postcure 9.6 - 11.6 ksi 1,510 - 1,620 ksi 0.7 -1.0 % 0.29 -0.36 14.9 - 21.6 ksi 1,440 - 1,480 ksi
0.26 - 0.31 ft-lb/in 93 - 94 0.15 - 0.16 %
D638M
D790M
Flexural Strength Flexural Modulus
D256A D2240 D570-98
Izod Impact-Notched Hardness (Shore D) Water Absorption
N/A: Not Available
Thermal & Electrical Properties (Imperial)

ASTM Method E831-00 Description C. T. E. -40F 32F C. T. E. 32F 122F C. T. E. 122F 212F C. T. E. 212F 302F D150-98 Dielectric Constant 60Hz Dielectric Constant 1KHz Dielectric Constant 1MHz D149-97a E1545-00 D648-98c Dielectric Strength Tg (TMA) HDT@ 66 psi HDT @ 264 psi Somos NanoTool UV Postcure 14.1 - 14.4 in/in-F 16.9 - 18.0 in/in-F 42.2 - 48.6 in/in-F 50.1 - 53.2 in/in-F 4.0 3.8 -3.9 3.6 - 3.7
396 - 427 V/mil
Somos NanoTool UV & Thermal Postcure 13.9 - 14.3 in/in-F 14.2 - 17.4 in/in-F 31.7 - 32.7 in/in-F 52.9 - 55.3 in/in-F 3.9 3.8 3.6
408 - 428 V/mil
135 - 144 F 437 F 185 - 193 F
187 - 192 F 496 - 506 F 220 F

N/A: Not Available
The ProtoFunctional Materials Company
2/08
DSM Somos
DSM
VisiJet EX200 Plastic

Expand your modeling and fit and function testing applications with VisiJet EX200, a material that is tougher and more durable. Material transparency allows you to view internal geometries and structures to better evaluate your product designs. The finest features, sharpest edges and smoothest curves available in 3-D printing. Quickly, and without geometric limitations, create consistent, repeatable and high quality parts. Simple, melt-away supports and no additional post processing ensures that your product design projects stay on schedule. VisiJet EX200 and the ProJet 3-D Production System form a complete solution that fits your budget with user-friendly, automatic operation in an office environment.
Material for 3-D Modeling
High definition, hard plastic parts to expand your modeling applications
Revolutionize your functional testing and bring your general purpose Rapid Design to the next level. A truly flexible 3-D printing material.
Properties Composition Color Case Quantity Net Weight (per case) Density @ 80 C (liquid), g/cm Tensile Strength, MPa Tensile Modulus, MPa Elongation at Break, % Flexural Strength, MPa Flexural Modulus, MPa Izod Notched Impact, kJ/m
2 3
Condition
VisiJet EX200 UV Curable Acrylic Plastic Natural 8 cartridges, 0.5kg ea 4.0 kg
ASTM D4164 ASTM D638 ASTM D638 ASTM D638 ASTM D638 ASTM D790 ASTM D256
1.02 42.4 1283 6.83 TBD 1159 2.5 52.5
Glass Transition Temperature, Tg @ 1 Hz
3D Systems 333 Three D Systems Circle Rock Hill, SC 29730 USA Telephone +1(803) 326-4080 TollFree (800) 889-2964
moreinfo@3dsystems.com www.3dsystems.com NASDAQ:TDSC
Warranty/Disclaimer: The performance characteristics of these materials may vary according to product application, operating conditions, material combined with, or with end use. 3D Systems makes no warranties of any type, express or implied, including, but not limited to, the warranties of merchantability or tness for a particular use. 2009 by 3D Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Specications subject to change without notice. ProJet is a trademark and VisiJet, 3D Systems and the 3D logo are registered trademarks of 3D Systems, Inc. PN 70742 Issue Date May 2009
P O LY J E T T E C H N O L O G Y
>
M AT E R I A L S
FullCure 700 Series Photopolymer Materials

- Good impact strength - No additional curing required - Absorbs paint, can be machined, drilled, chrome-plated or used as a mold - Elongation at break enables snap fit
Part of an expanded line of proprietary photopolymer resins, FullCure 700 Series are designed for precise jetting in super fine layers by PolyJet technology inside the Eden333 and 260 from Stratasys. Both model and non-toxic, gel-like support materials come in sealed, easy to handle 2kg cartridges easily replaced through a front-loading door.
Property
Tensile Strength Elongation at break Modulus of Elasticity Flexural Strength Flexural Modulus Izod Notched Impact Heat Distortion Temperature
Standard Procedure
D-638 D-638 D-638 D790 D790 D256 D648@ 0.45Mpa (66psi) @ 1.82Mpa (264psi) D695 Scale M
Value
42.3 MPa 15%-25% 2000 MPa 70.6 MPa 1978 MPa 25-38 J/m 110 F (43 C) 115 F (46 C) 69.4 MPa 81.0
Compression Strength Rockwell
Ash Content: The ash content of the FullCure 720 is < 0.01% at 1000 C Resin Density: Liquid model resin (RT) 1.092 gr/cc Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: @ 30-35C: (34.6 4.7) X 10-6 m/mC @40-70C: (60.8 9.5) X 10-6 m/mC @ 75-90C: (104.4 8.5) X 10-6 m/mC @ 95-110C (122.2 4.0) X 10-6 m/mC
For more information about Stratasys systems and materials, contact your representative or visit www.stratasys.com
2005 Stratasys, Inc. All rights reserved. Specifications subject to change without notice. FullCure materials for Eden systems are sold by Stratasys in North America only. FC700 1/05
Quote
Date 11/10/2011 Estimate # 4097
3251 Progress Drive Suite B2 Orlando, FL 32826

Name / Address FIU Diego Moreno Ferguson Ferguson
Project 11-10-11 Objet/FDM Description Prototype(s) Option 1: Description: Prototype Set (see below) Material: High-res Photopolymer Quantity 6 1 1 Part Name SCALE 1-75 BLADE WITH WINGLET nose cone SCALE 1-75 t-mount simple SCALE 1-75 1 260.00 260.00 Qty 1 Rate (each) 380.00 Total 380.00
Prototype(s) Option 2: Description: Prototype Set (see below) Material: ABS (FDM Process) Color: Any Quantity 6 1 1 Part Name SCALE 1-75 BLADE WITH WINGLET nose cone SCALE 1-75 t-mount simple SCALE 1-75
-Project duration of 3 - 5 business days is ARO (at receipt of order) and based on having all required information and owner furnsihed items from the customers to begin work. -Shipping & Handling via TBD
Thank you for the opportunity to potentially assist with your project. For questions or inquiries, please contact at: Phone: 407.737.1991 Fax: 407.384.2123 sales@mydeatechnologies.com Page 1
Quote
Date 11/10/2011 Estimate # 4097

Project 11-10-11 Objet/FDM Description Project Notes: **The tapered edge in the "SCALE 1-75 BLADE WITH WINGLET" model will not fully resolve in standard prototyping processes** -To initiate the project, job terms must be established with Mydea Technologies Corporation along with a formal Purchase Order. Otherwise a 50% deposit and authorized credit card on file is required to start the project. Qty Rate (each) Total
Quote
Date 11/15/2011 Estimate # 4109

Project 11-15-11 SLA Nanotool Description Prototype(s): Description: Prototype Set (see below) Material: SLA Nanotool, built in 0.002" layers Color: Any Quantity Part Name Qty 1 Rate (each) 990.00 Total 990.00
1 Blade Prototype Assembly SCALE 1-75 - nose cone SCALE1-75-1 1 Blade Prototype Assembly SCALE 1-75 - t-mount simpe SCALE 1-75-1.stl 3 Prototype Blade-With Winglet (Scaled 1 - 75) 3 Prototype Blade-Without Winglet (Scaled 1 - 75) Prototype(s): Description: Prototype Set (see below) Material: SLA Nanotool, built in 0.004" layers Color: Any Quantity Part Name 660.00 660.00
1 Blade Prototype Assembly SCALE 1-75 - nose cone SCALE1-75-1 1 Blade Prototype Assembly SCALE 1-75 - t-mount simpe SCALE 1-75-1.stl 3 Prototype Blade-With Winglet (Scaled 1 - 75) 3 Prototype Blade-Without Winglet (Scaled 1 - 75)
Quote
Date 11/15/2011 Estimate # 4109

Project 11-15-11 SLA Nanotool Description -Project duration of 3 - 5 business days is ARO (at receipt of order) and based on having all required information and owner furnsihed items from the customers to begin work. -Shipping & Handling via TBD General notes: -To initiate the project, job terms must be established with Mydea Technologies Corporation along with a formal Purchase Order. Otherwise a 50% deposit and authorized credit card on file is required to start the project. Qty Rate (each) Total
Appendix D: Technical Drawings for Prototype
Page | 125

DATE
TITLE:
t-mount
SIZE DWG. NO.
USED ON
SCALE: 1:32 WEIGHT:

2 1
REV
SHEET 1 OF 1

DATE
TITLE:
set screw mount

SIZE DWG. NO.
USED ON
SCALE: 1:64 WEIGHT:

2 1
REV
SHEET 1 OF 1

DATE
TITLE:
Prototype Blade-Without Winglet (Scaled 1 - 75)
SIZE DWG. NO.
USED ON
SCALE: 1:2 WEIGHT:

2 1
REV
SHEET 1 OF 1

DATE
TITLE:
Prototype Blade-With Winglet (Scaled 1 - 75)
SIZE DWG. NO.
USED ON
SCALE: 1:2 WEIGHT:

2 1
REV
SHEET 1 OF 1

DATE
TITLE:
nose cone
SIZE DWG. NO. SCALE: 1:64 WEIGHT:
2 1
USED ON
REV
SHEET 1 OF 1
.120
120.00
1.781
1.000 3.125
1.563

DATE
TITLE:
Heavy Hex Flat Jam Nut_AI

SIZE DWG. NO.
USED ON
SCALE: 1:2 WEIGHT:

2 1
REV
SHEET 1 OF 1
Appendix E: Data from Testing

Results for test with winglets
Test 1
Test 2
Resistance Voltage Current (mA) Power (W) Voltage Current (mA) Power (W) 0 7.91 0 0 7.92 0 0 1000 6.56 6.59 0.043230 6.53 6.55 0.042772 2000 7.15 3.59 0.025669 7.05 3.53 0.024887 3000 7.35 2.46 0.018081 7.18 2.39 0.017160 4000 7.46 1.87 0.013950 7.37 1.83 0.013487 10000 7.65 0.75 0.005738 7.65 0.75 0.005738 15000 7.7 0.49 0.003773 7.5 0.49 0.003675 20000 7.76 0.37 0.002871 7.58 0.36 0.002729 25000 7.73 0.28 0.002164 7.68 0.28 0.002150 30000 7.8 0.24 0.001872 7.67 0.24 0.001841 40000 7.8 0.17 0.001326 7.71 0.18 0.001388 45000 7.77 0.15 0.001166 7.67 0.15 0.001151 60000 7.77 0.11 0.000855 7.64 0.1 0.000764
Test 3
Test 4
Resistance Voltage Current (mA) Power (W) Voltage Current (mA) Power (W) 0 7.92 0 0 7.91 0 0 1000 6.51 6.55 0.042641 6.51 6.52 0.042445 2000 7.06 3.54 0.024992 7 3.53 0.024710 3000 7.3 2.44 0.017812 7.25 2.42 0.017545 4000 7.36 1.82 0.013395 7.36 1.84 0.013542 10000 7.56 0.74 0.005594 7.58 0.74 0.005609 15000 7.52 0.49 0.003685 7.6 0.49 0.003724 20000 7.52 0.35 0.002632 7.61 0.36 0.002740 25000 7.62 0.28 0.002134 7.66 0.29 0.002221 30000 7.57 0.23 0.001741 7.55 0.23 0.001737 40000 7.66 0.17 0.001302 7.61 0.17 0.001294 45000 7.63 0.15 0.001145 7.61 0.15 0.001142 60000 7.61 0.13 0.000989 7.6 0.1 0.000760
Page | 126
Results for test without winglets
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Test 4
Page | 127

2011fall T2 WingletsforWindTurbineRotorBlades

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EML 4905 SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT

November 30, 2011

Ethics Statement and Signatures

Rinaldo Gonzalez Galdamez Team Member

Diego Moreno Ferguson Team Member

Juancarlo Rodriguez Gutierrez Team Member

Dr. George Dulikravich Faculty Advisor

Dr. Igor Tsukanov Faculty Advisor

1.3 Literature Survey

1.3.1 Introduction to Wind Turbines

Figure 2: Smith-Putnam Wind Turbine[12]

Figure 4: (a) NASA MOD-0 Turbine, (b) Boeing MOD-5B Turbine[14]

Figure 7: Current installed power capacity (MW). Source: DOE-EERE[17]

1.3.2 Modern Wind Turbine Design

Figure 10: Offshore wind turbines (REpower M5 turbines)[18]

1.3.3 Wind turbine aerodynamics

Figure 13: Actuator Disc Concept[11]

Figure 14: Stream tube defined by actuator disc[11]

It is then deducted from combining equations 4 and 5 that

Giving a power coefficient of

1.3.3.2 Rotor disc theory

Figure 17: Development of tangential velocity in rotor disc (Thickness)[11]

Figure 18: Blade Element Velocities and Forces [11]

The lift force can be expressed as

and the drag force will be

Figure 19: Power Coefficient vs. Tip Speed Ratio[11]

The flow angle is given by

Differentiating with respect to a gives

and if we substitute Equation (38) into (40)

After introducing the optimum conditions from Equation (45)

1.3.3.5.3 Optimal Blade Design for Constant-Speed Operation

Figure 23: Helical Trailing Tip Vortices[11]

Figure 24: A helicoidal Vortex Sheet[11]

The rate of change of axial momentum = 4 1 ()() ()()

1.3.3.6.2 Prandtls Approximation for the Tip-Loss Factor

1.3.3.6.3 Optimum Blade Design and Tip-Loss

1.3.3.7 Definitions of drag and lift

Figure 26: Separated Flow Pressure Distribution Around a Cylinder[11]

where c is the chord length of the airfoil.

1.3.4 Wind turbine loads and structure

1.3.4.1 Beam theory for wind turbine blades

Figure 27: Components of a blade[10]

Moment of stiffness about XR: =

Moment of stiffness about YR: =

Hence the point of elasticity can be calculated as:

Moment of centrifugal stiffness : =

(66) (67) (68)

Given this transformation, the angle can now be calculated [10] :

(69) (70) (71)

Figure 30: Cantilever beam analysis. Reproduced from [10].

If the blade is in equilibrium then () = 0. Hence, M1 and M2 are given by:

1.3.4.2 Dynamic structural model

Figure 31: Loading caused by the Earth's Gravitational Field[10]

Figure 32: Loading caused by Braking the Rotor[10]

This force can be found with the expression

Figure 33: Effect of coning the rotor[10]

1.3.4.3.3 Aerodynamic loading

The geometry of a winglet is defined by six parameters:

Figure 34: Parameters describing winglet geometry [6].

Figure 35: Winglets with different curvature radius [7]

Figure 36: Winglets with different sweep angles [7]

Figure 37: Winglets with different height [7]

2.2 Airfoils and blade geometry