Parametric geometry representations for wind turbine blade shapes

Based on the Joukowsky transformation and Theodorsen method,a novel parametric function (shape function) for wind turbine airfoils has been developed.The airfoil design space and shape control equations also have been studied.Results of the analysis of a typical wind turbine airfoil are shown to illustrate the evaluation process and to demonstrate the rate of convergence of the geometric characteristics.The coordinates and aerodynamic performance of approximate airfoils is rapidly close to the baseline airfoil corresponding to increasing orders of polynomial.Comparison of the RFOIL prediction and experimental results for the baseline airfoil generally show good agreement.A universal method for three-dimensional blade integration-“ Shape function/Distribution function” is presented.By changing the parameters of shape function and distribution functions,a three dimensional blade can be designed and then transformed into the physical space in which the actual geometry is defined.Application of this method to a wind turbine blade is presented and the differences of power performance between the represented blade and original one are less than 0.5％.This method is particularly simple and convenient for bodies of streamline forms.