ENGG378/948 Sustainable Energy Technologies

WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
Weeks 12   

– Theory of horizontal axis wind

turbine (HAWT)
– Airfoils
– Derivation of Blade Element
Momentum Theory
– Solution procedure

Objectives of lecture week 12
• To gain an understanding of the aerodynamic limits to
wind
turbine performance (the Lanchester‐Betz limit) and basic
wind turbine theories: Actuator Disk Theory, Rotor Disk
(Galuert) Theory and Blade Element Momentum Theory
(BEM);

• To appreciate the importance of the Lift and Drag

characteristics of the wind turbine blades (aerofoils);

• To understand and predict the aerodynamic forces acting

on the blades of a HAWT and hence the power output and
rotor thrust load;

1
 WIND TURBINES STANDARDS
• Wind Turbine Generator Systems – Part 1: Safety Requirements.
IEC 61400 – 1 (621.312136/13)

• Wind Turbine Generator Systems – Part 2: Safety of Small Wind Turbines
CEI IEC 1400‐2

• Wind Turbine Generator Systems – Part 11: Acoustic Noise Measurement
Techniques. IEC 61400‐11 (621.312136/13)

• Wind Turbine Generator Systems – Part 12: Wind Turbine Power 
Performance Testing. IEC 61400 – 12 (621.312136/13)

• Acoustics – Measurement, Prediction and assessment of noise from wind
turbine generators. AS 4959 – 2010

• Wind Turbines Part 21: Measurement and assessment of power quality 
characteristics of grid connected wind turbines. AS 61400.21 ‐ 2006

Wind Energy / Wind Devices Websites
• Australian Wind Energy Institute. //www.australianwindenergyinstitute.com

• Danish Wind Industry Association. ://www.windpower.org/en/

• Sandia National Laboratories (US). //www.sandia.gov/wind/

• Vestas http: //www.vestas.dk/

• http: ///www.dewi.de

2
 INTRODUCTION
The most common wind turbines used for electrical power 
generation are low solidity HAWTs with relatively high tip 
speed ratio, .

For application 
where high 
torque is 
required, multi‐
bladed high 
solidity turbines 
are used.

Actuator Disk Theory
The simplest theory to analyse the performance of HAWT is the actuator disk
theory. The theory predicts the optimum (absolute limit) Performance
Coefficient (Cp) and the Thrust Coefficient (CT).
The turbine is considered to be a
porous disk (representing the
spinning blades) through which the
wind flows. The disk extracts kinetic
energy from the wind – the air
velocity therefore decreases in the
wake.
A streamtube containing the turbine
is shown in the figure.
We use three basic tools of fluid 
dynamics in the analysis:
• Conservation of Mass
• Impulse‐momentum principle
• Bernoulli’s Equation

3
 Actuator Disk Theory 
Conservation of mass in the streamtube 
gives:

 A  u = D A D uD = W A W uW (1)

We assume incompressible flow and model

the fact that the wind must slow down by
the time it reaches the rotor by aU ‐ i.e.
with the “axial induction factor”, a.
u D  u  (1  a) (2)
The pressure at the upstream side and
downstream of the actuator disk are found
from Bernoulli’s equation (neglecting
changes in air density and elevation)
1 1
p  u 2  p D  u 2D (3)
2 2
1 1
p D  u 2D  p  u 2W ( 4)
2 2
Substracting the 2nd equation from the 1st we get
1
p D  p D  (u 2  u 2W ) (5)
2

Actuator Disk Theory 
The thrust, F, acting on the
rotor is given
1
F  A D (p D  p D )  A D (u 2  u 2W ) (6)
2
Alternatively, the thrust can also
be obtained using momentum
balance as the rate of change of
momentum in a control volume
enclosing the rotor.
F   A D   u D (u   u W )
  A D (1  a)u  (u   u W ) (7)
u uW
Equating (6) and (7) results in
1 2
(u   u 2W )  u  (1 ‐ a)(u   u W ) (8)
2
gives and the power extracted by the rotor is
u W  u  (1  2a ) (9) Power  F u D   2  A D   u 3 a (1  a ) 2 (11)
u  uW
uD  (10)
2

4
 Actuator Disk Theory 
1
Ct
The power coefficient, Cp 0.9 Cp

0.8

P 0.7

Cp   4a (1  a ) 2 (12) 0.6

Pw

Ct,Cp
0.5

0.4

0.3
We then find the maximum  0.2

possible power coefficient  0.1

which occurs when 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
a

We may also define a Thrust

dC P / da  0  4(1  a )(1  3a)
Coefficient, CT, to model the axial force
 a  1/ 3 on the turbine.
C P ,max  4a (1  a ) 2  4 / 3(1  1 / 3) 2 F
CT   4 a (1  a ) (13 )
 16 / 27  0.593  ADU 2 / 2
This value is the Lanchester‐ These coefficients which are derived 
Betz limit. from simple 1‐D momentum model is 
not valid when a > 0.5.

Lanchester – Betz Limit

P P
CP  
Pw AU 3 /2

The optimum (theoretical)

Power Coefficient, Cp is
59.3% known as
Lanchester – Betz Limit

5
 Example
An inventor claims to have developed a water turbine of 1
m diameter that produces 5 kW in a tidal flow of five
knots (1 knot = 0.515 m/s). Do you believe the inventor’s
claim? Why?
1
PW   A U3 PW  0.593 x 6701 .49
2
1  3.973 kW
 x 1000 x  0 .5 2 x ( 5 x 0.515 ) 3
2
 6701 .49 W Cautiously believe
P until he shows the
C P ,max 
PW actual unit. It may
have other feature
such as a diffuser.

Airfoils
Wind turbine blades are designed to extract mechanical forces
from the wind flow around the blade. Airfoils are effective
devices to do this. And it is important to familiarize ourselves
with airfoil characteristics. Figure below shows the important
parameters used to describe an airfoil.

The geometric parameters that have an effect on the

aerodynamic performance of an aerofoil include: the leading
edge radius, mean camber line, maximum thickness, and
thickness distribution of the profile, and the trailing edge
angle.

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 Airfoils
When an airfoil is placed in real, viscous moving fluid it will experience a
force and pitching moment due to the pressure and viscous forces on the
surface of the body.

Lift is the component of force on body normal to the direction of travel

(i.e. normal to the velocity of fluid relative to the body). While drag force is
parallel to the velocity of fluid relative to the body.

These forces and moments for 2D aerofoil are measured in wind tunnel
and expressed in terms of coefficients:

(25)

(26)

M /l Pitching Moment
Cm 
1
 (27)
U 2 c Dynamic Moment
2

Aerofoils 
As the fluid flow pass an airfoil at
low angle of attack, , the fluid will
need to accelerate along the top
surface creating a low pressure
(suction) region along the top
surface.
Fluid Mechanics Cengel & Cimbala
The surface pressure differences
between the top and bottom surface
for different  are shown in the
figure on the left corner. For NACA
0012 aerofoil.
P  Po
Cp  (28)
1
U 2
2
As  increases both lift and drag
will increase. Initially lift increases
more rapid than drag but at some
Small Wind Turbine Analysis, D. Woods
point drag increases rapidly.

7
 Aerofoils 
Lift and Drag Coefficients are NACA0012Hat Re = 1.0E+7

functions of: 2

• Angle of attack, 1.8 Lift

Drag
• Shape of aerofoil 1.6

• Reynolds number (Re = Uc/).

Lift and Drag coefficients

1.4

Data generally given for sections 1.2

(infinite span). 1

0.8

0.6
Note: it is the ratio CL/CD that is
0.4
usually the most important
0.2
parameter in regard to aerofoil
0
performance in wind turbines. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Angle of attack,  (°)

Aerofoils : Stall
As the angle of attack is
increased so the lift increases
almost linearly until the
ʺboundary layerʺ cannot
remain attached. 
At this point stall occurs and
the aerofoil is no longer
streamlined and lift drops
dramatically.

Aerofoil data for

Difference in aerofoils for flying object
aeroplane applications
and wind turbines, in wind turbines:
often present only for
‐ High angle of attacks
small values of  ‐ but
‐ Low Reynolds number
wind turbines can
operate with very wide
range of .

8
 Turbine Blades: Lift & Drag 
From the diagram, looking down
dFN blade (1  a) u (1  a)
tan  
 (1  a)  r (1  a) r

U rel  u (1  a ) / sin  ( 29)


dFT
Rotor plane Lift and drag for a
blade element
p
1
dFL  C L  U rel
2
c dr ( 30)
U(1‐a) 2
1
dFD  C D  U rel
2
c dr ( 31)
 2

 a’r r Thrust (normal), FN and tangential

Velocity triangle force, FT for a blade element
dFN  dFL cos   dFD sin  (32)

dFT  dFL sin   dFD cos  (33)

Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEM)
If the rotor has N blades, (combining (30) &
(31) in (32) & (33)) the total normal force on
the section at a distance, r from the center is:
1
dFN  N  U rel
2
Ca c dr (34)
2
where
r
The total tangential force is Ca  C L cos   C D sin 
1 Ca '  C L sin   CD cos 
dFT  N  U rel
2
Ca ' c dr (35)
2
The differential torque is
1
dQ  N  U rel
2
Ca ' c r dr (36)
2
Defining local solidity, ’
   N c / 2 r (37 )

9
 BEM 
The elemental thrust from axial momentum
(see Eq. 13) 2
dFN  4  u a (1  a) r dr (38)

r Equating (34) and (38),

1
dFN  N  U rel
2
C a c dr (34)
2
we can obtain relation between a and Cl and
Cd.
U2
a (1  a )  rel2   Ca (39)
4U 
Eq. (39) provides an iterative way to find a and Cl and Cd. From
assumed a, relative velocity is obtained hence lift and drag
coefficients. Using Eq. (39) new a is found and iteration is continued
until a is converged. So it is common to write Eq. (39) as
2
U rel
an (1  an )    Ca (40) where an is new a value.
4U 2

BEM 
The elemental torque from rotating disk
theory (see Eq. 16)
dQ  4   U  a ' (1  a )r 3 dr (41)
r Equating (41) and (36)
1
dQ  N  U rel
2
Ca ' c r dr (36)
2
We obtain relation between a and a’.
  U rel
2
Ca 
a(1  a )  (42)
4 U  r
2

Combining (40) and (42), we can get

a C a
a  (43)
C a r
After a and a’ have been obtained, blade element thrust and
torque can be calculated using (34) and (36). Total torque and
thrust can be obtained by integration over the whole blade span.
The iterative procedure is shown in the next slide.

10
 Solution Procedure
Inputs: no of blades; blade profile, twist, chord, radius;
no of blade element; freestream wind speed;
rotor rpm; blade lift & drag data

Start with assumed: a and a`

Calculate:
 using Eq. (22), Urel, AoA, Re, Cl & Cd
update Ca, Cadash
a and adash

MATLAB programs: 
Calculate:
a and adash simple_bem_calc.m
Eq(39) & (43) landD_0012.m
tcdist.m
have been written to 
a converged? implementing BEM 
theory to calculate 
wind turbine power 
output.
Calculate:
Power and Thrust

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