Author Topic: New Twist in Wind Blades  (Read 1591 times)

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MattM

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New Twist in Wind Blades
« on: April 17, 2014, 09:31:19 AM »
http://www.pddnet.com/articles/2013/04/there%E2%80%99s-new-twist-wind-blades

The basic physics and economics of wind turbine blades are relatively simple. For one, their power output is roughly proportional to the square of blade length. This relationship pushes designers to create increasingly longer blades for harvesting additional kilowatts. Secondly, as blades get longer, weight increases—by approximately the cube of the length—leading to higher raw material costs. This correlation sends designers in search of weight-efficient geometries that are strong and rigid enough to weather the increased loading inherent in longer blades.

<continued at link>

The gist is a 12% increase in efficiency and high wind speed tolerances.

Mary B

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Re: New Twist in Wind Blades
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2014, 04:32:31 PM »
Interesting, not to applicable to small wind that I can see.

joestue

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Re: New Twist in Wind Blades
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2014, 04:58:30 PM »
12% increase in what efficiency?

in any case, regarding twisting the blade, it should be simple to understand that the blade root and tip are not at the same angle.
but the difference changes according to the airspeed. simply rotating the entire blade doesn't preserve optimum blade twist.
one example would be for a kaplan water turbine, the blade root is at 20 degrees, the tip at 10 degrees
but when you want the blade root at 45 degrees, the tip needs to be 22.5, a difference of 22.5 degrees, not 10.
>this was my first reaction reading the title "new twist in wind blades"
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