Computational assessment of the DeepWind aerodynamic performance with different blade and airfoil configurations

摘要

An aerodynamic improvement of the DeepWind rotor is conducted adopting different rotor geometriesudand solutions with respect to the original configuration while keeping the comparison as fair as possible.udThe objective of this work is to find the most suitable configuration in order to maximize the power productionudand minimize the blade stress and the cost of energy. Different parameters are considered for theudstudy. The DeepWind blade is characterized by a shape similar to the Troposkien geometry but asymmetricudbetween the top and bottom parts. The blade shape is considered as a fixed parameter in the optimizationudprocess and, because of different blade element radii, it will experience different tip speed ratios inudthe same operational condition. This leads to a complex optimization problem, which must be carefullyudanalyzed in order to find the most suitable parameter set. The number of blades in the analysis is variedudfrom 1 to 4. In order to keep the comparison fair among the different configurations, the solidity is keptudconstant and, therefore, the chord length reduced. A second comparison is conducted by considering differentudblade profiles belonging to the symmetric NACA airfoil family. Finally, a chord optimization alongudthe blade span is conducted, in order to find the optimal chord distribution to maximize the powerudproduction.