Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Optimum aerodynamic design for wind turbine blade with a Rankine

vortex wake
Dborah Aline Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz a, Jerson Rogrio Pinheiro Vaz a, *, Andr Luiz Amarante Mesquita a,
Joo Tavares Pinho b, Antonio Cesar Pinho Brasil Junior c
a
b
c

Universidade Federal do Par, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecnica, Av. Augusto Correa, s/n e Belm, PA 66075-900, Brazil
Universidade Federal do Par, Faculdade de Engenharia Eltrica, Av. Augusto Correa, s/n e Belm, PA 66075-900, Brazil
Universidade de Brasilia, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Mecnica, Av. L3 Norte, Asa Norte, Braslia, Distrito Federal, Cep. 70.910-900, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 28 August 2012
Accepted 8 December 2012
Available online 30 January 2013

This paper presents a model to optimize the distribution of chord and twist angle of horizontal axis wind
turbine blades, taking into account the inuence of the wake, by using a Rankine vortex. This model is
applied to both large and small wind turbines, aiming to improve the aerodynamics of the wind rotor,
and particularly useful for the case of wind turbines operating at low tip-speed ratios. The proposed
optimization is based on maximizing the power coefcient, coupled with the general relationship between the axial induction factor in the rotor plane and in the wake. The results show an increase in the
chord and a slightly decrease in the twist angle distributions as compared to other classical optimization
methods, resulting in an improved aerodynamic shape of the blade. An evaluation of the efciency of
wind rotors designed with the proposed model is developed and compared other optimization models in
the literature, showing an improvement in the power coefcient of the wind turbine.
Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords:
Aerodynamic optimization
Wind turbine
Wind energy
BEM model

1. Introduction
In wind turbine design, the maximization of the power coefcient is of fundamental importance in order to optimize the
extraction of energy from the wind. This paper addresses the
problem of the aerodynamic optimization of a horizontal axis wind
turbine rotor, considering the search of optimum shape design of
the blade. The optimum design of wind turbine can be achieved
from three different approaches that describe the energy conversion in the turbine blades. The rst one uses the classical Blade
Element Model (BEM), which describes this energy conversion by
means of force and moment balances in radial sections of the
blades (Glauert theory [7,18]). The second approach is based in
vortex methods [1], and the last methodology uses the modern
uid ow simulation tools (CFD approach [14]).
Presently, an important effort has been devoted to the development of methodologies of optimization using advanced genetic
algorithm and evolutionary computation [1,4,6] coupled to CFD
tools [14]. Global optimum design can be achieved by the use of
those methodologies, where each blade analysis requires a CFD

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 55 91 8179 5591.

E-mail address: jerson@ufpa.br (J.R.P. Vaz).
0960-1481/$ e see front matter Published by Elsevier Ltd.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2012.12.027

computation, which can make this process computationally

expensive and thus time-consuming. The high computational costs
for these approaches have motivated proposals for modied algorithms or other alternatives for faster methodologies.
A reasonably and fast methodology can be proposed based on
the BEM method [18], which is the model most frequently used by
scientic and wind power industry communities for design and
analysis of wind rotors. This method is essentially an integral
method, with semi-empirical information from aerodynamics
forces in airfoil sections issued from two-dimensional airfoil ow
model or experimental data.
Thus, complex three-dimensional effects are not accounted for,
but the method provides accurate good performance prediction for
a large range of wind turbine operation. Besides that, the BEM
theory has resulted in good accuracy, allowing the chord and twist
distributions to be optimized for maximum power extraction with
low computational cost [10,11,13]. Currently, BEM is the basis for
a great number of optimization methods using the evolutionary
computation [1,3]. However, optimization methods based on
improved BEM models with variational or maximization principles
can also provide good solutions, with lower computational cost and
advantages in the implementation of the design procedure [8,15].
Based on that, this work presents a mathematical model to optimize the distributions of chord and twist angle of horizontal axis

D.A. Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz et al. / Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

wind turbine blades, taking into account the inuence of the wake,
by using a Rankine vortex model, as proposed by Wilson and Lissaman [18]. This model is applied to both large and small wind
turbines, aiming to improve the aerodynamics of the wind rotor.
This is particularly useful for the case of wind turbines operating at
low tip-speed ratios, as for example the ones with multibladed
rotors. The proposed optimization is based on maximizing the local
power coefcient, coupled to the general relationship between the
axial induction factor in the rotor plane and in the wake. The results
show a modication in the chord and twist angle distributions,
resulting in an improved aerodynamic shape of the blade. An
evaluation of the efciency of wind rotors designed with the proposed model is developed and compared with Glauert [7] and
Stewart [15] optimization models. The results also show an
improvement in the extraction of wind energy due to the change in
the aerodynamic shape of the wind blade.

employed, where from the ow of a streamtube it is possible to

derive expressions for the thrust, torque and power for the control
volume shown in Fig. 1, and using the velocity diagram shown in
Fig. 2. In this gure L and D are the lift and drag forces, respectively.
These relationships are:

b
Bc
Cn

1a
4pr Fsin2 f

(5)

b0
Bc
Ct

1 a0
4pr Fsinfcosf

(6)

where a0 and b0 are the tangential induction factors at the rotor and
factor at the rotor wake, respectively, and dened by

a0

2. Mathematical model

b0

2.1. Basic formulation

Wilson and Lissaman [18] present a one-dimensional mathematical model that considers the vortex wake caused by the wind
turbine, using a more general form than Glauerts model [7] for the
calculation of the theoretical power coefcient. Fig. 1 illustrates the
behavior of the ow in a streamtube and the ow axial velocities.
The induced velocities u and u1 in the rotor plane and in the wake,
respectively, are written as:

V0  v uh1  aV0
V0  v1 u1 h1  bV0

V u
a 0
V0
b

V0  u1
V0

(2)

(3)

(7)

2U

u1

(8)

2U

U is the angular speed of the wind turbine, w and w1 are the

rotor and wake angular velocities of the uid, c is the local chord, r
is the radial position in the rotor plane, f is the angle of ow, B is the
number of blades, and Cn and Ct are the coefcients of the normal
and tangential forces (Fn and Ft) to the rotor plane, given by
Cn

(1)

V0 is the velocity of undisturbed ow, v aV0, v1 bV0, a and

b are the axial induction factors in the rotor plane and in the wake,
respectively, and dened by

Ct

Fn
CL cosf CD sinf
1
rW 2 cdr
2
Ft
CL sinf  CD cosf
1
rW 2 cdr
2

b2 1  a2
ba

(4)

In this expression it is considered that the vortex in the wake

behaves as a free vortex. To relate the induction factors to the blade
geometry, the model described by Mesquita and Alves [12] is

Fig. 1. Simplied illustration of the velocities in the rotor plane and in the wake.

(9)

(10)

where W is the relative velocity, r is the air density, Cl and Cd are the
lift and drag coefcients, which are usually obtained from wind
tunnel tests or numerical methods [5], and F is the Prandtl tip-loss
factor, as described in Ref. [17], which is dened as the ratio between the bound circulation of all blades and the circulation of

The power coefcient, by applying the energy and momentum

balance, has the form [17,18,20]:

Cp

297

Fig. 2. Velocity diagram for a rotor blade section.

298

D.A. Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz et al. / Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

a rotor with an innite number of blades. It is the most accepted

correction employed, and is usually taken as corresponding to
a model of the ow for a nite number of blades. Strip theory
calculations made with the Prandtl model show good agreement
with calculation made through free wake vortex theory and with
test data [17]. Finally, it is pointed out, according to the analysis
performed by Wald [26], in the case of X < 2, that the Prandt tiploss correction does not t the exact solution of the circulation on
the potential ow in a propeller. X is the tip-speed ratio, dened by

RU
V0

(11)

where R is the rotor radius. This result suggests that a more detailed
investigation for the validity of the use of the Prandt correction in
the case of X < 2 and for turbine ow is necessary. However, this
analysis is beyond the scope of this paper and will be considered in
future works.
Wilson and Lissaman [18] showed that it is possible to establish
a general relationship between the axial induction factors a and
b from the application of the continuity, momentum and energy
equations for the induced velocities in the streamtube shown in
Fig. 1. Thus, considering the hypothesis that the wake behaves like
a free vortex, Wilson and Lissaman [18] demonstrated that the axial
induction factor in the rotor plane has a non-linear relationship
with the axial inducing factor in the wake for low tip-speed ratios,
X, especially for values X < 2, as shown in Fig. 3. This relationship is
dened by:



b
b2 1  a
1
2
4X 2 b  a

(12)

Mesquita and Alves [12] showed that Eq. (12) can be rearranged
in the form of a complete cubic equation in b, where only one of the
roots shows a consistent behavior with the physical constraints of
the problem. It should be noted that Eq. (12) can also be solved
numerically, with good results as shown in Ref. [16]. In this case the
analytical solution to Eq. (12) is

1
1
1 p
b  S T  a1  i
3S  T
2
3
2

(13)

where

r
q
3
S
Z Q 3 Z2

r
q
3
Z  Q 3 Z2

3a2  a21
9

(16)

9a1 a2  27a3  2a31

54

(17)

a1

4X 2
a1

(18)

a2

12aX 2
1a

(19)

a3

8a2 X 2
a1

(20)

2.2. Effect of the wake rotation

As described in some experimental studies found in the literature, for example Whale et al. [21], Ebert and Wood [22] and Hu
et al. [9], the ow structure in the wake of a wind rotor is complex
with 3D effects and unsteady behavior. However, as already commented, the BEM method provides good results for engineering
design purpose, and these results are improved when the wake
rotation is considered. In order to improve their model, Wilson and
Lissaman [18] showed that it is necessary to introduce a correction
in Eq. (4), because the free vortex hypothesis causes innite velocities on the wake near the axis of the wind turbine. This fact can
be seen in Fig. 4, where the power coefcient tends to high values
when X < 2. Also, Cp can take values greater than 1 when X is very
small. However, for small values of a and X > 2 there are physically
consistent values for Cp.
In order to obtain a physically consistent solution, Wilson and Lissaman [18] proposed the use of a Rankine vortex instead of the irrotational vortex to represent the wake, which solves the problem of the
innite velocities near the turbine axis. This approach is implemented
by the introduction of a parameter NhU=wmax in the expression of the
power coefcient, which assumes the following form [18]:

Cp
(14)

b1  a2
2Na 1  Nb
ba

0.8

0.6
X = 0.25
X = 0.50
X = 0.75
X = 1.00
X = 2.00
X = 3.00
X=

0.4

0.2

0
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

a
Fig. 3. Relation b/a for some values of X.

(15)

Fig. 4. Power coefcient as a function of axial induction factors a and b.

(21)

D.A. Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz et al. / Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

The parameter N represents the inuence of the Rankine vortex,

and wmax is the maximum speed of the vortex wake. The determination of wmax is a limitation of this methodology and experimental data are needed, as, for example, the experiments carried
out by Hu et al. [9], Whale et al. [21] and Ebert and Wood [22].
However, unfortunately, in the currently available literature there is
a lack of measurements for the hub vortex, particularly for X < 2.
Figs. 5 and 6 show the behavior of Eq. (21) for N equal to 1 and 2,
respectively. The value of the maximum power coefcient of a rotor
is heavily inuenced by the parameter N in the region where X < 2.
It is observed that for X > 2, and consequently b 2a, there is
no inuence of N in the calculation of the theoretical power coefcient of an ideal wind turbine, because Eq. (21) reduces to
Cp 4a(1  a)2, showing that in this case the maximum power
coefcient is 59.26% (Betzs limit [2]). Note that for N 0, Eq. (21)
reduces to Eq. (4). In this work, a sensibility analysis for the
parameter N is performed in order to obtain more information on
the use of this formulation.
For this same correction, other alternatives for the vortex model
are possible. A more general model is the Vatistas model given by
(Leishaman [23]):

vq

Gr

1=n
2n
p
2 rc r n

(22)

where vq is the tangential velocity component, G is the vortex circulation strength, rc is the vortex core radius, n is an arbitrary
integer, and r is the local radial coordinate for the vortex tangential
velocity prole. For n 1 the Scully vortex is reproduced, for n 2
one obtains the Bagai-Leishaman vortex model, and for n/N then
Vatistas model reduces to the Rankine vortex model.
Young [19] has performed an extensive review on existing
experimental works available in the literature and, using a kinetic
energy conservation approach, concludes that all forms of the
Vatistas vortex model, included the Rankine vortex prole, match
reasonably well with the experimental data for the tip vortex. This
result is comprehensive because in the model implementation the
vortex strength or the core size is often adjusted on a trial and error
bases with experimental data. However, as already commented, for
the hub vortex the available experimental data are scarce.
On the theoretical analysis, this problem was analyzed by some
authors after the pioneer work from Wilson and Lissaman [18] in
the middle of the 70s. Wood [24] uses Vatistas vortex with n 1
and concludes that this model does not have a signicant effect on
the basic analysis that leads to the Betz limit [2], provided that the
core radius of the hub vortex is sufciently small and the tip-speed

299

Fig. 6. Power coefcient as a function of axial induction factors a and b for N 2.

ratio is sufciently high. For low tip-speed ratios the results become
not physically possible with innite values for the power coefcient
when the tip-speed ratio decreases to zero. Recently, Srensen and
Kuik [25] proposed a model that remedies this problem by
including the contribution from the lateral pressure and friction
forces in the axial momentum theorem, with result that the power
coefcient never exceeds the Betz limit [2] and tends to zero at zero
tip-speed ratio. Since the friction force and pressure on the lateral
boundary on the control volume are not known a priori, the authors
proposed a model, in which this force is proportional to the wake
expansion area and to the tip pressure drop multiplied by a small
coefcient giving the net inuence of the integrated pressure acting
on the lateral boundary of control volume. The determination of
this coefcient is yet open in this methodology.
Finally, it is important to analyze the inuence of the wake
rotation in the radial pressure gradient. Srensen and Kuik [25]
showed that the radial pressure gradient in the far wake is given by:



vp1
1 2
vu
r
vq  u1 1
vr1
vr1
r1

(23)

where p1 and r1 are the pressure and the local radial coordinate in
the far wake, respectively. This gradient has to deliver the centripetal acceleration rv2q =r1 . This is satised when vu1/vr1 0.
Consequently, u1 is constant in the fully developed wake. This result
allows the determination of a relationship between axial induction
factors in the rotor plane and in the wake, respectively. Therefore,
according to Srensen and Kuik [25], applying a combination of the
momentum, energy and mass balance equation gives:

b2 1  a
2Xb  a

(24)

where q G=2pRV0 . In this case, the axial momentum balance

is:

u
q2 2Xq
1a
V0
2b

(25)

Combining Eq. (24) with Eq. (25), one obtains Eq. (12). For the
power coefcient, Srensen and Kuik [25] showed that:

Cp 2Xq1  a

Fig. 5. Power coefcient as a function of axial induction factors a and b for N 1.

(26)

Substituting Eq. (24) in Eq. (26), one obtains Eq. (4). These results, show that the study developed by Srensen and Kuik [25],
about momentum theory at low tip-speed ratio, agree with the

300

D.A. Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz et al. / Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

mathematical relations obtained by Wilson e Lissaman [18] for the

axial induction factors and power coefcient, which are used in the
present work.
2.3. Aerodynamic optimization of wind turbine blade
In this work the aerodynamic optimization is obtained by
maximizing the power coefcient given by Eq. (21), making dCp/
da 0, and resulting in:

db
db
d
2 Na3 2 2bN 
bN  1 N a2 2b N  1
da
da
d





db
db
2
2
N  1 a b 1 
N  1 N
b 1  7N
da
da
2b3 N  1 0
(27)
Dividing Eq. (27) by the term 2Ndb/da gives

a3 d1 a2 d2 a d3 0

9d1 d2  27d3  2d1

54

Therefore, with the calculated value of it is possible to develop

an iterative procedure for the optimum aerodynamic design of
wind blades. The optimum chord is calculated using Eq. (5), which
in this case can be rewritten as:

copt

4prbFsin2 f


BCn 1  aopt

db
bN  1 N
da
db
N
da


2b

d2

db
db
N  1 b2 1  7N
N  1
da
da
db
2N
da

(38)

For the calculation of a0 , the relationship described in Ref. [8] is

used, which is dened as:

a0opt aopt

tanf
x

(39)

Eq. (39) is valid even for values of X < 2, as this relationship is

obtained in the rotor plane and not in the wake. Once a0opt is calculated, b0 is described in Mesquita and Alves [12], and Vaz et al.
[16], and given by:

b0opt b

2bN 

(37)

(28)

where

d1

Z*

(29)

(40)

aopt

The optimum twist angle is obtained from aopt the velocity diagram shown in Fig. 2, by Eq. (41). The velocities diagram was
obtained according to the classical theory of turbomachinery.

bopt fopt  a



db
b2 1 
N  1 N 2b3 N  1
da
d3
db
2N
da

a0opt

(41)

where fopt is given by Eq. (42)

(30)
1

fopt tan

(31)

" 
 #
1  aopt


1 a0opt x

(42)

The iterative procedure for the calculation of optimum chord

and twist angle at each section of the blade is detailed as
Algorithm.

where db/da is obtained by differentiating Eq. (12).




8a2 X 2  b 16aX 2  b b1  b 8X 2
db




da
4a2 X 2 b  8aX 2 b 3a1  a  2b1  a 4X 2
(32)
Note that Eq. (27) is a complete cubic equation in a, where only
one root presents a physically consistent solution, in a similar way
as demonstrated by Mesquita e Alvez [12]. The solution of Eq. (27) is
given by:

1
1
1 p
aopt  S* T*  d1  i
3S*  T*
2
3
2

(33)

where

r
q
3
S*
Z* Q*3 Z*2

T*

3. Results and discussion

(34)

r
q
3

Z* 

Q*3

Z*2

(35)

Q*

3d 2  d 1
9

(36)

3.1. Airfoil data

The results were obtained using the aerodynamics characteristics of the NACA 0012 symmetrical airfoil, obtained experimentally by Sheldahl and Klimas [27]. The NACA 0012 is one of
the most popular symmetrical airfoils, so there are more
experimental data available in the literature. Fig. 7 shows the
lift and drag coefcients for a Reynolds number of 1.6  105. In
this case, the optimizations have been developed for an angle of

D.A. Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz et al. / Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

301

0.2

0.8
0.15

CD

0.6
0.1

0.4
0.05
0.2

10

0
0

15

10

15

Fig. 7. (a) Lift coefcient and (b) drag coefcient of the NACA 0012 [27].

attack of 8 . This angle is chosen for maximum CL/CD, in this

case around 44. The NACA 0012 airfoil is used here just for the
purpose of assessing the behavior of the proposed model, since
it is not the objective of the work to evaluate airfoils
efciencies.
3.2. Results for low tip-speed ratios (X < 2)
First, to check the behavior of algorithm implementation and its
convergence, simulations were performed for small values of X.
Fig. 8a presents the evolution of the computation of the theoretical
power coefcient (Eq. (21)) as a function of the number of iterations. The numerical method converges to a number of iterations
larger than 25. For a number of iterations less than 25, the power
coefcient tends to exceed the Betz limit [2], and should not be
applied. Fig. 8b shows that the induction factors in the rotor plane
and in the wake do not present a linear behavior for X < 2; in other
words, bs2a and b0 s2a0 .
The results were obtained for X 1.57. In this case, for N 1 and
N 2 the power coefcient tends to less than 59.26%. This effect
was expected, because the Rankine vortex causes a reduction in the
theoretical power coefcient for X < 2, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. For
N 0 and X < 2, the Betz limit [2] can be exceeded, as shown in
Fig. 4, which, according to the actuator disk theory, is not possible.
Therefore, the result for N 0 in Fig. 8a, shows the power coefcient to be 59.75%, which is slightly larger than the Betz limit [2],
due to the fact that the free vortex hypothesis causes innite velocities on the wake near the axis of the wind turbine [18]. In an

attempt to correct this problem the Rankine vortex can be

employed, as described by Wilson and Lissaman [18] and presented
in Figs. 5 and 6. These results show that the efciency of a wind
turbine is heavily inuenced by wake rotation at low tip-speed
ratio operation.
Despite the difculty to nd detailed experimental results for
the vortices hub, some works give very useful information about
the vorticity eld in the region. These data could provide some
indication on the validity of the Rankine vortex assumption and
about the parameter N from this model. In order to estimate the
parameter N it is necessary to calculate the maximum uid angular
velocity, wmax. In the case of the ow behind the wind rotor the
!
vector vorticity, z is given by

1.6

0.6 Betz Limit

1.4
1.2
Induction Factor

0.5

Cp
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0

b
b
a
a

b = 1.3633

1
b = 0.7375

0.8

a = 0.6196

0.6
a = 0.3352

0.4
N=0
N=1
N=2
10

20
Number of iterations

30

(43)

By denition, the axial component of the vorticity eld, zz, is

twice the uid angular velocity, wz. With the experimental ow
velocity data it is possible to estimate the vorticity and, consequently, the uid velocity ow and its maximum, wmax. Note that
for an axisymmetric ow with free vortex model the vorticity is
zero.
Recently, Hu et al. [9] carried out an experimental study in
order to characterize the dynamic wind loads and evolution of
the unsteady vortex and turbulent ow structures in the near
wake of a horizontal axis wind turbine model placed in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. The measurements were

0.7

0.4

1 vrvq 1 vvr !
!
!
e z zz e z 2wz e z

r vr
r vq

0.2
40

10
15
Number of iterations

20

Fig. 8. Convergence of the method: (a) Power coefcient. (b) Induction factors in the rotor plane and in the wake for the optimized procedure for X 1:57 and N 0.

302

D.A. Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz et al. / Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

where d 7.5 mm is the spacing of the experimental velocity grid.

Using the experimental data obtained by Whale et al. [21], Table 2
shows the estimation of the parameter N as a function of the tipspeed ratio. It is veried that the parameter N presents the same
behavior and the same order of magnitude for both experimental
data obtained by Hu et al. [9] and Whale et al. [21]. From this
analysis it is suggested that the value for the parameter N in the case
of X < 2 could be less than 3. However, these experimental data are
not detailed enough for a precise analysis, and more measurements
for the vorticity eld in the wake hub region are necessary.
A second group of simulations is presented to evaluate the performance of the model for a small wind turbine with multiple blades,
typically used in pumping systems, with 3 m diameter and 0.9 m hub
diameter, constant rotation of 60 rpm, average wind speed of 6 m/s
and 12 blades, giving a tip-speed ratio of 1.57. Fig. 9 shows the chord
and twist angle distributions. Note that the aerodynamic shape is
different from the results obtained with Glauert [7] and Stewart [15]
optimizations models. This occurs due to the fact that the model
takes into account the maximum power coefcient point in the
calculation process of the chord and twist angle for any value of X.
Table 3 shows the power coefcient and output power for the wind
turbines designed under the same operating conditions.
In order to verify the performance as a function of the wind
speed, Fig. 10 shows that the power coefcient and the output
power (P) are improved, around 18.54% for a wind speed of 6.5 m/s,
when compared to the Glauert [7] and Stewart [15] optimizations
models (see Fig. 10b). The results shown in Table 3 can be observed
in Fig. 10a for X 1.57. For the wind speed of 6 m/s, for which the
wind turbine was designed, the results with the proposed model
present better efciency.

Table 1
Estimates for N from measurements of Hu et al. [9].
X

zz max

wmax

3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5

94.5
110.2
126.0
141.7

50
50
50
50

25
25
25
25

3.8
4.4
5.0
5.7

Table 2
Estimates for N from measurements of Whale et al. [21].
X

zn max

zz max

wmax

3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
8.0

8.6
11.4
14.3
17.1
22.9

0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8

6.7
6.7
6.7
6.7
6.7

3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3

2.6
3.4
4.3
5.1
6.9

performed by a PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) system. Using

these results, it is possible to calculate the parameter N in the
Rankine vortex model employed in this work. In Hus experiments the diameter of the turbine rotor model was 254 mm,
which is made of twisted blades, and the mean wind speed at the
hub height of the wind turbine model was set to 4.0 m/s. In these
experiments, it is always reported that the strength of the vortices varies with the tip-speed ratio, the maximum value for the
axial vortices component was around 50 s1. The experiments
were performed for tip-speed ratios of 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5. With
these data and using Eq. (43), Table 1 shows the estimation of the
parameter N as a function of the tip-speed ratio. From this result
it can be observed that the parameter N decreases with
decreasing tip-speed ratio. Note that the value for maximum
axial vorticity is approximated because the results from Hu et al.
[9] were presented in the form of color maps and not in
a quantitative way.
Whale et al. [21] carried out wake velocity and vorticity
measurements in an untwisted two-blade wind rotor model
with diameter of 175 mm using also the PIV technique at tipspeed ratios in the range X 3e8. The experiments were performed in a water channel with V0 0.25 m/s, and the axial
vorticity maps were presented in a non-dimensional vorticity
dened by

4z d
zn z
V0

3.3. Results for high tip-speed ratios (X > 2)

The proposed model can also be applied for high tip-speed ratios. Fig. 11 shows that the power coefcient tends to the Betz limit
[2] for any value of N. This occurs because the tip-speed ratio is
higher than 2, since for X < 2 the model tends to power coefcient
values lower than the Betz limit. This result shows that Eq. (33)
locally maximizes the power coefcient, and satises the Betz [2]
condition. The results observed in Fig. 11 were obtained for
Table 3
Power coefcient and output power for the designed wind turbines X 1:57.

Cp(%)
P(W)

(44)

0.3

Glauert

Stewart

N 0

N 1

N 2

29.17
278

29.22
278

35.00
334

34.78
331

34.28
327

40
Stewart (1976)
Glauert (1926)
N=0
N=1
N=2

35

0.25

30
c/R

o
( )

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05
0.3

Stewart (1976)
Glauert (1926)
N=0
N=1
N=2
0.4

0.5

25
20
15

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

10
0.3

0.4

0.5

r/R
Fig. 9. (a) Chord distributions. (b) Twist angle distributions.

0.6

0.7
r/R

0.8

0.9

D.A. Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz et al. / Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

0.4

303

350

0.35
300
P (W)

Cp

0.3
0.25
0.2

Stewart (1976)
Glauert (1926)
N=0
N=1
N=2

0.15
0.1
1

1.2

1.4

1.6

250
Stewart (1976)
Glauert (1926)
N=0
N=1
N=2

200

150
5

1.8

5.5

6
V0 (m/s)

6.5

Fig. 10. (a) Power coefcient as a function of tip-speed ratio. (b) Output power as a function of speed.

0.8

0.7

0.7

0.6 Betz Limit

0.6
Induction Factor

0.8

Cp

0.5
0.4
0.3

b
b
a
a

b = 0.667

0.5
b = 0.410

0.4

a = 0.333

0.3
a = 0.207

0.2

0.2
N=0
N=1
N=2

0.1
0
0

10

20
Number of iterations

30

0.1
0

40

10
15
Number of iterations

20

Fig. 11. (a) Power coefcient as a function of the number of iterations and (b) induction factors in the rotor plane and in the wake for the optimized procedure for X 4:18 and
N 0.

0.35

40
Stewart (1976)
Glauert (1926)
N=0
N=1
N=2

0.3
0.25

Stewart (1976)
Glauert (1926)
N=0
N=1
N=2

35
30
25

c/R

o
( )

0.2
0.15

20
15

0.1

10

0.05
0
0

5
0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

0
0

0.2

r/R

0.4

0.6

0.8

r/R

Fig. 12. (a) Chord distributions. (b) Twist angle distributions.

X 4.18, and show that b and b0 converge to the model proposed by

Glauert [7], where the induction factors b and b0 present a linear
behavior (b 2a and b0 2a0 ; see Fig. 11b).
The results shown in Fig. 12 were obtained for X 4.18, considering a small wind turbine with 4 m diameter and 0.4 m hub
diameter, constant rotation of 120 rpm, average wind speed of 6 m/s
and 3 blades. Table 4 shows the power coefcient and output power
for the wind turbines designed under the same operating conditions.

Table 4
Power coefcient and output power for the designed wind turbines X 4:18.

Cp(%)
P(W)

Glauert

Stewart

N 0

N 1

N 2

37.23
631

36.10
612

39.57
671

39.57
671

39.57
671

304

D.A. Tavares Dias do Rio Vaz et al. / Renewable Energy 55 (2013) 296e304

0.4

650

0.35

600

0.3

550

P (W)

Cp

700

0.25
0.2

Stewart (1976)
Glauert (1926)
N=0
N=1
N=2

0.15
0.1
2.5

3.5

4.5

500
Stewart (1976)
Glauert (1926)
N=0
N=1
N=2

450
400
350
5

5.5

6
V0 (m/s)

6.5

Fig. 13. (a) Power coefcient as a function of tip-speed ratio. (b) Output power as a function of speed.

The output power obtained using the rotor designed with the
proposed model is around 12.73% higher than those obtained with
the Glauert [7] and Stewart [15] optimizations models, for a wind
speed of 6.5 m/s (see Fig. 13b). The curves for N 0, N 1, and N 2
coincide. This result was expected, because for high tip-speed ratios
the model present the same response.
4. Conclusions
The proposed mathematical model represents a simple alternative tool for the optimal design of wind rotors, especially for turbines with multibladed rotors, where the proposed optimization can
improve the efciency for both high and low tip-speed ratios, in this
case, an improvement of 18% was obtained for X < 2, when compared
with the classical models. The main advantage of the proposed
model is to take into account the effects of the wake rotation using
a Rankine vortex model. The method shows better efciency when
compared to the Glauerts [7] and Stewarts [15] optimizations, satisfying the condition described by Betz [2], where the maximum
energy to be extracted from the ow is 59.26% of its original energy.
For low tip-speed ratios the behavior of the axial induction factors in
the wake is completely non-linear and needs to be considered. This
fact considers the slow operation of a turbine, commonly used in
water pumping systems. The comparisons show that the developed
model improves the aerodynamics of the wind rotor. However, some
limitations need to be considered, such as the difculty in accurately
determining the maximum rotation of the wake vortex formed
behind the rotor, which indicates that more detailed experiments on
the wake structure for the hub region are necessary, as well as the
validity of the Prandt tip-loss correction, where more investigation is
also needed. For high tip-speed ratios, the presented model shows
that the inuence of the wake rotation is negligible.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank CNPq (480135/2010e0), PROPESP/UFPA (EDITAL PARD 04/2011), GEDAE, INCT e EREEA and
ELETRONORTE for nancial support.
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