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P.Chaviaropoulos, Α.Vossinis, S.Voutsinas, "Computer Aided Design of Blades: Current
Capabilities & Perspectives", Proc. EUWEC’96 Paper P7.10, pp. 279-282, 20-24 May 1996,
Göteborg, Sweden.
Abstract
The maximum energy capture is a desired feature of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT). To this
end, computer-aided design methods can he used within the context of optimization. Alternative design
procedures can be defined depending on the selection of the design variables. As such the designer can
select geometrical or operational characteristics. Previous work in Europe and America confirmed the
importance of the airfoil shape or equivalently the aerodynamic performance of the blade. In the
present paper this issue is addressed by designing airfoils of low drag. Results are presented for
different thicknesses and maximum lift. The effect of roughness is also considered. The end product of
the whole research activity is a data base of approximately 100 different airfoil shapes. This data base
was used to input a genetic algorithm of rotor optimization which was specifically formulated for
multi-point design. Details are given in a companion paper [1]. It was found that, by selecting properly
the airfoil shapes of a blade, a 10% increase of the energy production of commercial turbines can be
achieved.
Keywords
Wind Turbine (HAWT) – Rotors, Optimisation, Airfoil Sections, Numerical Methods