Application of the Blade Element Momentum Theory to Design Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Blades

Abstract

Small horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) are increasingly used as source of energy production. Based on this observation, the blade element momentum theory (BEMT) is applied all along the blade span to calculate the optimal turbine aerodynamic performances. The main objective is to optimize the HAWT blade profile for specific initial conditions. The effects of three geometric parameters (the blade tip radius, the number of blades, and curvature) and one dynamic parameter (the tip speed ratio (TSR)) are determined for an upstream air speed of 7 m/s. A new empirical relation for the chord distribution over the blade span is presented here; c(r)/R=c0+A[1+r/R]exp(−Br/R), where c0 = 0.04 is the chord offset, A = 1/Z is an amplitude, and B = [(Z/5) + 2] is the decay constant. It takes into account both the effect of blade tip radius and the number of the blades.