Using the discrete local circulation model to predict aerodynamic performance of horizontal axis wind turbine
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Abstract
A new analysis model utilizing the "discrete local circulation" method (DLCM-HAWT) is presented for predicting the aerodynamic loads and performance of a horizontal axis wind turbine. The method uses an equivalent turbine for which the number of blades goes to infinity as the blade chord goes to zero such that the turbine solidity remains constant. In this way, the highly unsteady flow through a turbine is represented by an equivalent steady flow. The corresponding continuous distributions of shed and trailing vorticity in the wake are determined from the gradient of the local bound vorticity distribution on the turbine rotor disk. The degree of detail and calculation accuracy which can be obtained by this method are comparable to that by a vortex model but with a major saving of computation time. The results are compared with the PROPPC code and experimental data. The DLCMHAWT program is found to have better correlation with the test data than the PROPPC code.