Modeling and simulation of forces applied to the horizontal axis wind turbine rotors by the vortex method coupled with the method of the blade element

Abstract

This article aims to study the forces applied to the rotors of horizontal axis wind turbines. The aerodynamics of a turbine are controlled by the flow around the rotor, or estimate of air charges on the rotor blades under various operating conditions and their relation to the structural dynamics of the rotor are critical for design. One of the major challenges in wind turbine aerodynamics is to predict the forces on the blade as various methods, including blade element moment theory (BEM), the approach that is naturally adapted to the simulation of the aerodynamics of wind turbines and the dynamic and models (CFD) that describes with fidelity the flow around the rotor. In our article we proposed a modeling method and a simulation of the forces applied to the horizontal axis wind rotors turbines using the application of the blade elements method to model the rotor and the vortex method of free wake modeling in order to develop a rotor model, which can be used to study wind farms. This model is intended to speed up the calculation, guaranteeing a good representation of the aerodynamic loads exerted by the wind.