Horizontal
Wind Turbine
Anas Aljunaidi
MECH 408
Greg Watkins, Ph.D., PE

Background
 Analyze loads on wind Turbine
 Run CFD on single and wind turbine farms

Introduction
1430 Steel
1430 Steel

Material
US Department of
Energy

CFD Boundary Conditions
- External
- Speed Wind12 m/s

Forces on Wind Turbine

Wind Turbine Geometry

Wind speed Analysis
 Area Swept by the Blades= pi x Radius²
= 𝜋∗850in 2
= 𝜋∗2.3∗106 in 2
=2,300,000 square inch
= 1,483.8 m 2 .

Force from Wind
 Total Dynamic Pressure= ½ *rhu*V^2
=
1
2
∗ 1.2754
𝑘𝑔
𝑚3 ∗ 12
𝑚
𝑠2 = 92
𝑁
𝑚2
 Total force exerted = Pressure*Swept Area of
Blades
92
𝑁
𝑚2 ∗ 1,483.8 𝑚2
= 136,436 N= 30,672.033 pounds force
Rhu= Air density at 20 C , 101.325 kPa

Static Result
Fix
0.023
N/m^2
295,892
N/m^2

Static Result
0.674mm
0.0 mm

Drag
0.457m

Calculation
 Fd= 1
2
∗ 0.04 ∗
1.2754𝑘𝑔
𝑚
∗ 21.6𝑚 ∗ 0.457𝑚 ∗
12𝑚
𝑠2
= 36.2 N
Assumptions:
Area= Square
21.6 m
0.457

Left force
1.9 m
L
A

Calculation
o FL= 1
2
∗ 0.42 ∗
1.2754𝑘𝑔
𝑚
∗ 21.6𝑚 ∗ 0.457𝑚 ∗
12𝑚
𝑠2
= 1,582 N
Assumptions:
Area= Square
21.6 m
1.9 m

Solid Works Output
turbine assem.SLDASM [Project(1) [Default]]
Goal Name Unit Value Averaged Value Minimum Value Maximum Value Progress [%] Use In Convergence Delta Criteria
SG Normal Force (X) 1 [N] 181.5529246 185.752925 181.5529246 188.3778656 100Yes 6.824940997 9.929729303
SG Normal Force (Y) 1 [N] 199.0358555 198.0729076 193.9113958 208.0525651 100Yes 14.14116922 15.65210745
Iterations: 45
Analysis interval:
22

Total Power
 Power =
1
2
∗ 𝜌 ∗ 𝐴 ∗ 𝑉3
 P = Power (Watts)
 ρ = Air Density (about 1.275 kg/m3 at sea level)
 A = Swept Area of Blades (m2)
 V = Velocity of the wind

Total Power
 Power =
1
2
∗ 𝜌 ∗ 𝐴 ∗ 𝑉3
=
1
2
∗ 1.275
𝑘𝑔
𝑚3 ∗ 1,483.8 𝑚2
∗ 12
𝑚
𝑠
3
= 1.63 ∗ 106 𝑊
= 1.63 𝑀𝑊 Turbine

Natural Frequency

Animation

Spacing in Wind farms
D=43 m
4D=172 m
7D=301 m

Wind Farms
81 m
54 m

Pressure Plot
101.326KPa
101.326KPa

3-D Pressure

Velocity

3-D Velocity

Solid Works Output
turbine assem.SLDASM [Project(1) [Default]]
Goal Name Unit Value Averaged Value Minimum Value Maximum Value Progress [%] Use In Convergence Delta Criteria
PG Static Pressure 1 [Pa] 101325.1562 101325.1548 101325.1521 101325.1562 100 Yes 0.004078979 0.022376443
PG Velocity 1 [m/s] 12.02177676 12.02160023 12.02140063 12.02177676 100 Yes 0.000376126 0.001988448
PG Mach Number 1 [ ] 0.035031718 0.035031203 0.035030622 0.035031718 100 Yes 1.09655E-06 5.79546E-06
PG Static Pressure 2 [Pa] 101311.9506 101312.1532 101311.822 101312.5168 100 Yes 0.610094113 1.996318653
Iterations: 60
Analysis interval:
21