Fluid-Structure interaction analysis and performance evaluation of a membrane blade

The Science of Making Torque from Wind

Saeedi, M.^1 ; Wüchner, R.^1 ; Bletzinger, K.-U.^1

Technical University of Munich, Arcisstr. 21, Munich

D-80333, Germany^1

关键词: Aero-dynamic performance;    Aerodynamic characteristics;    Applied aerodynamics;    Fluid structure interaction analysis;    Lift and drag coefficients;    Multiphysics problems;    Performance evaluations;    Tensioned membranes;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/753/10/102009/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1742-6596/753/10/102009

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Examining the potential of a membrane blade concept is the goal of the current work. In the sailwing concept the surface of the wing, or the blade in this case, is made from pre-tensioned membranes which meet at the pre-tensioned edge cable at the trailing edge. Because of the dependency between membrane deformation and applied aerodynamic load, two-way coupled fluid-structure interaction analysis is necessary for evaluation of the aerodynamic performance of such a configuration. The in-house finite element based structural solver, CARAT++, is coupled with OpenFOAM in order to tackle the multi-physics problem. The main aerodynamic characteristics of the membrane blade including lift coefficient, drag coefficient and lift to drag ratio are compared with its rigid counterpart. A single non-rotating NREL phase VI blade is studied here as a first step towards analyzing the concept for the rotating case. Compared with the rigid blade, the membrane blade has a higher slope of the lift curve. For higher angles of attack, lift and drag coefficients as well as the lift to drag ratio is higher for the membrane blade. A single non-rotating blade is studied here as a first step towards analyzing the concept for the rotating case.