Publications Details

An Aeroelastic Reference Model for the SWIFT Turbines

Resor, Brian R.; LeBlanc, Bruce P.

This report serves as documentation of the information and considerations involved in creation of the latest version of the SWIFT turbines aeroelastic model. Information used to create the model came from a variety of sources including original Vestas drawings and hardware characterization during construction of turbines at the site. Much of the original Vestas drawings remain proprietary and are not available to the public, though they have been referenced and included in the bibliography. The tower and blades of the turbine model were first created using available design information and then were calibrated to match experimental characterizations performed during construction. Some model inputs, such as airfoil polar data and estimated blade material properties, were computed. A basic controller is created to represent the basic operation of the modified SWiFT turbines.