• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.111-133
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• 2019

Flow through a scaled horizontal axis marine current turbine was numerically simulated after validation and the turbine design was optimized. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code Ansys-CFX 16.1 for numerical modeling, an in-house blade element momentum (BEM) code for analytical modeling and an in-house surrogate-based optimization (SBO) code were used to find an optimal turbine design. The blade-pitch angle (${\theta}$) and the number of rotor blades (NR) were taken as design variables. A single objective optimization approach was utilized in the present work. The defined objective function was the turbine's power coefficient ($C_P$). A $3{\times}3$ full-factorial sampling technique was used to define the sample space. This sampling technique gave different turbine designs, which were further evaluated for the objective function by solving the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS). Finally, the SBO technique with search algorithm produced an optimal design. It is found that the optimal design has improved the objective function by 26.5%. This article presents the solution approach, analysis of the turbine flow field and the predictability of various surrogate based techniques.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.341-354
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• 2024

This paper presents a theoretical method to deal with the aerodynamic performance and pitch optimization of the horizontal axis wind turbine blades at low wind speeds. By considering a blade element, the functional relationship among the angle of attack, pitch angle, rotational speed of the blade, and wind speed is derived in consideration of a quasi-steady aerodynamic model, and aerodynamic loads on the blade element are then obtained. The torque and torque coefficient of the blade are derived by using integration. A polynomial approximation is applied to functions of the lift and drag coefficients for the symmetric and asymmetric airfoils respectively, where specific expressions of aerodynamic loads as functions of the angle of attack (which is a function of pitch angle) are obtained. The pitch optimization problem is investigated by considering the maximum value problem of the instantaneous torque of a blade as a function of pitch angle. Dynamic pitch laws for HAWT blades with either symmetric or asymmetric airfoils are derived. Influences of parameters including inflow ratio, rotational speed, azimuth, and wind speed on torque coefficient and optimal pith angle are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.73-80
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• 2009

A tidal current turbine is designed and analyzed numerically by using blade element momentum theory. The rated power has a limitation because the diameter of the tidal current turbine cannot exceed the depth of sea water. This study investigates a horizontal axis tidal-current turbine with a rated power of 500 kW. NACA-6 series laminar foil shape is used for basic airfoil along the blade span. The distributions of chord length and twist angle along the blade span are obtained from the hydrodynamic optimization procedure. Prandtl's tip loss correction and angle of attack correction considering the three-dimensional effect are applied for this study. The power coefficient curve shows maximum peak at the rated tip speed ratio of 6.0, and the maximum torque coefficient is developed at the tip speed ratio of 4. The drag coefficient reaches about 0.85 at the design tip speed ratio.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.677-691
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• 2015

In this study, the geometrical setup of a turbine blade is tracked. A research-scale rotating turbine blade system is setup with a single 3-axes accelerometer mounted on one of the blades. The turbine system is rotated by a controlled motor. The tilt and rolling angles of the rotating blade under operating conditions are determined from the response measurement of the single accelerometer. Data acquisition is achieved using a prototype wireless sensing system. First, the Rodrigues' rotation formula and an optimization algorithm are used to track the blade rolling angle and pitching angles of the turbine blade system. In addition, the blade flapwise natural frequency is identified by removing the rotation-related response induced by gravity and centrifuge force. To verify the result of calculations, a covariance-driven stochastic subspace identification method (SSI-COV) is applied to the vibration measurements of the blades to determine the system natural frequencies. It is thus proven that by using a single sensor and through a series of coordinate transformations and the Rodrigues' rotation formula, the geometrical setup of the blade can be tracked and the blade flapwise vibration frequency can be determined successfully.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.448-448
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• 2009

A new blade has been developed to apply to Doosan 3MW offshore wind turbine named as WinDS3000TM. The 3MW blade has been designed by the concept of slim external shape and optimized structure. High-performance glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites were used as the main material of the blade. The blade was manufactured using vacuum infusion process in order to increase the fiber volume fraction and to reduce micro-porosities. The blade has successfully passed the full-scale blade static test for certification. During the test, micro-failure signal and strain change of the blade were measured using acoustic emission sensors and strain gages. The blade has robust structure and weighs lighter compared to conventional blade since the new blade was designed by optimization process. The 3MW blade will be commercially applied to WinDS$3000^{TM}$ in 2010.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.20-28
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• 2015

The pump-turbine impeller is the key component of pumped storage power plant. Current design methods of pump-turbine impeller are private and protected from public viewing. Generally, the design proceeds in two steps: the initial hydraulic design and optimization design to achieve a balanced performance between pump mode and turbine mode. In this study, the 3D inverse design method is used for the initial hydraulic impeller design. However, due to the special demand of high performance in both pump and reverse mode, the design method is insufficient. This study is carried out by modifying the geometrical parameters of the blade which have great influence and need special consideration in obtaining the high performance on the both modes, such as blade shape type at low pressure side (inlet of pump mode, outlet of turbine mode) and the blade lean at blade high pressure side (outlet of pump mode, inlet of turbine mode). The influence of the geometrical parameters on the performance characteristic is evaluated by CFD analysis which presents the efficiency and internal flow results. After these investigations of the geometrical parameters, the criteria of designing pump-turbine impeller blade low and high sides shape is achieved.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.195-213
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• 2014

Recently, the horizontal axis rotor performance optimizer (HARP_Opt) tool was developed in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA. This innovative tool is becoming more popular in the wind turbine industry and in the field of academic research. HARP_Optwas developed on the basis of two fundamental modules, namely, WT_Perf, a performance evaluator computer code using the blade element momentum theory; and a genetic algorithm module, which is used as an optimizer. A pattern search algorithm was more recently incorporated to enhance the optimization capability, especially the calculation time and consistency of the solutions. The blade optimization is an aspect that is highly dependent on experience and requires significant consideration on rotor control strategies, wind data, and generator type. In this study, the effects of rotor control strategies including fixed speed and fixed pitch, variable speed and fixed pitch, fixed speed and variable pitch, and variable speed and variable pitch algorithms on optimal blade shapes and rotor performance are investigated using optimized blade designs. The effects of environmental wind data and the objective functions used for optimization are also quantitatively evaluated using the HARP_Opt tool. Performance indices such as annual energy production, thrust, torque, and roof-flap moment forces are compared.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.22-27
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• 2013

The purpose of this paper is to perform the structural design of the small scale vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) blade using a response surface method(RSM). First, the four design factors that have a strong influence on the structural response of blade were selected. Analysis conditions were calculated by using the central composite design(CCD), which is a typical design of experiment for the response surface method(RSM). Also, the significance of the central composite design(CCD) was verified using analysis of variance(ANOVA). The finite element analysis was performed for the selected analytical conditions for the application of response surface method(RSM). Finally, a optimization problem was solved with a objective function of blade weight and a constraint of allowable stress to achieve a optimal structural design of blade.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.11-24
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• 2017

The present work focuses multi-objective optimization of blade sweep for a Wells turbine. The blade-sweep parameters at the mid and the tip sections are selected as design variables. The peak-torque coefficient and the corresponding efficiency are the objective functions, which are maximized. The numerical analysis has been carried out by solving 3D RANS equations based on k-w SST turbulence model. Nine design points are selected within a design space and the simulations are run. Based on the computational results, surrogate-based weighted average models are constructed and the population based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm gave Pareto optimal solutions. The peak-torque coefficient and the corresponding efficiency are enhanced, and the results are analysed using CFD simulations. Two extreme designs in the Pareto solutions show that the peak-torque-coefficient is increased by 28.28% and the corresponding efficiency is decreased by 13.5%. A detailed flow analysis shows the separation phenomena change the turbine performance.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.40-47
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• 2013

An aerodynamic design tool was developed for small wind turbine blades based on the blade element momentum theory. The lift and drag coefficients of blades that are needed for aerodynamic blade design were obtained in real time from the Xfoil program developed at University of Illinois. While running, the developed tool automatically accesses the Xfoil program, runs it with proper aerodynamic and airfoil properties, and finally obtains lift and drag coefficients. The obtained aerodynamic coefficients are then used to find out optimal twist angles and chord lengths of the airfoils. The developed tool was used to design a wind turbine blade using low Reynolds number airfoils, SG6040 and SG6043 to have its maximum power coefficient at a specified tip speed ratio. The performance of the blade was verified by a commercial code well known for its prediction accuracies.