Iterative Analysis of Wind Turbine Design Utilizing Digital Modeling

When developing a system for power production it is of interest to be able to optimize design features to create the maximum electrical power output. It is expensive to both create physical models of these power systems and iterate upon them to improve on design aspects. Digital models are useful in this case as they are inexpensive to run and easily changed on the fly. Researchers at UNC Charlotte have developed a model of a 100 kW rated wind turbine to explore how the design features of rotor diameter and gear ratio affect the performance of such a system. The digital model uses an input of National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) wind resource data over a range of 3 years between 2004 and 2006 with a fixed blade pitch, and air density. The model finds given the wind resource data that a gear ratio of 20.6 and rotor diameter of 17.86m are optimal. This model allows engineers to estimate power generation with an input of wind speed from a database to determine the best design parameters before construction begins. The model can be further developed to include economic factors such as levelized cost of energy to ensure feasibility from a cost and performance standpoint.