Abstract:
According to the three key elements in the blade design process, which were aero-design, structural design and loads prediction, independent R & D progress was summarized and analyzed. In aero-design, the computational fluid aerodynamic (CFD) method, vortex method and the blade element momentum method (BEM) were described. Then based on the BEM method, which was widely used in the engineering design, solutions for designing blades applied in low-speed wind area were pointed out. In structural design, a brief overview of the traditional design and analysis methods based on beam model was given. Then, the defects of these methods when used in thin-shell structures of large-scale composite blade were analyzed. At last, the application progress in the finite element method (FEM) used in the blade structure analysis was also described. In loads prediction, the effects of the loads prediction on blades and the entire wind turbine were introduced. The progress in load forecasting was also described. Then, a through analyzing the relationship between these three key elements, a conclusion, that developing a blade optimization design system with coordinated aerodynamics, structure and loads could truly meet the requirements of high efficiency and low cost, was got. At last, the main directions need further study are pointed out. Those are, high efficiency and low uploaded airfoils, structural nonlinear finite element analysis, aero-structure coupling research and enacting design standard etc. The aim is establishing a blade R & D system suitable for the conditions of wind resources in China, and promoting the development of wind power in the country.