Study on a new aerodynamic model of HAWT based on panel method and Reduced Order Model using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition

A new aerodynamic model, PANROM, of horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), which couples 3D Panel Method and Reduced Order Model (ROM) based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), is presented in this paper. By integrating the characters of the two different numerical methods, the PANROM model obtains the 3D aerodynamic load of a wind turbine in extremely short time. This is mainly because, on one hand 3D Panel Method is a kind of Boundary Element Method, which analyzes 3D potential flow field using surface mesh, on the other hand ROM is in essence a type of Spectrum Method and its analysis is performed in the reduced order space created by POD. In this paper, the theory of PANROM is derived step by step and, after the validation, the coupled model is applied to NREL Phase VI wind turbine blade. From the comparison it can be seen that the PANROM model gives a good prediction of the aerodynamic load.

► We developed a new aerodynamic model of wind turbine blade. ► This model combines the 3D Panel Method and Reduced Order Model based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition. ► This model uses less time than the CFD codes based on Finite Volume Method etc. in analyzing the 3D flow field. ► This model is useful in the process of designing a new blade and it can be integrated into aeroelastic codes.