Trade Study: The Effect of Cord Length and Taper on

Wind Turbine Blade Design

John Larson
Group C4: Turbinator Technologies
AME 40463
Senior Design
February 28, 2008
Abstract
The goal of this study was to analyze the effects of varying the cord length and
amount of taper of a turbine blade on the overall wind turbine performance. A blade
profile to use for this study and for our wind turbine design was selected, and then
the effects of varying cord length were calculated. The calculations were based on experiments performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory [2] and performed
using MATLAB. The cord length and taper of the blades were found to have a significant impact on performance, but other factors such as the design wind speed were
shown to have an important role as well.

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of variations in turbine blade size on
the overall performance of our wind turbine. One turbine blade profile was selected from a set
of six recommended for small wind turbines by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
[2]. This profile was then analyzed based on experimental data over a range of possible cord
lengths and taper angles.
The design variables for this study was the blade size (determined by the cord length)
and the amount of variation of this blade size along the length of the blade (taper). The
state variables determined from this analysis are the power extracted from the wind, the
amount of torque generated, and the resulting thrust force. Design parameters include the
shape, number, length, twist, and Tip-Speed-Ratio of the blades, the air viscosity, and the
wind speed.
The cord size will be constrained to 6 inches, which is larger than my group plans to
make our turbine blades. This is based on our experimental findings with a prototype with
a cord length of about 4 inches at the base of the blade. The taper will be constrained
to be linear. This is for simplicity in manufacturing as we plan of to cut the shape of the
airfoil from foam with a hot wire. Performance values will be calculated for this range of
input variables; however, possible designs will be limited by the amount of force acting on
each blade and the resulting forces on the rotor and rest of the system. Determining what
designs are feasible based on these calculated values and the base design is the subject of
other studies and beyond the scope of this report.
This report will be used to help the group determine what is the best design for the wind
turbine blades. The report will investigate the trends in performance as the cord length and
amount of taper are varied; however, the model that is developed can be reused to evaluate
the blade design as it is modified to incorporate results from other studies and analysis.

2
2.1
2.1.1

Methods
Defining Parameters
Blade Length

As a group, it was decided to design our turbine blades to have a length of approximately
two feet (.61 meters). This decision was based on the available power in the wind as given
by
1
P = AV03 Cp Cg ,
(1)
2
where P is the available power, is the density of air, A is the swept area, and V0 is
the wind speed. The constant Cp represents the power coefficient of the blades, which has
a maximum value of approximately 59% according to aerodynamic theory [1]. The other
constant Cg accounts for inefficiencies in the generator that reduce the amount of electrical
power extracted from the wind.
Using a wind speed of 15 m.p.h. and values for Cp and Cg of 30% and 50%, respectively,
the resulting power was calculated to be 32 watts. The group determined that this was
1

a reasonable size because it met our basic performance requirement of producing 20 W of

power at a nominal 15 m.p.h. wind. The size also fits our packaging plans and gave us some
margin for decreased real-world performance. A first-generation prototype featuring a very
simple blade geometry (cut 4 PVC pipe) demonstrated similar power output when charging
a battery. However, we could not obtain an accurate measure of wind speed due to our lack
of an anemometer.
2.1.2

Blade Profile

The calculations performed later in this study were based on experimental data from the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Their report cited six airfoil profiles recommended
or in use on small scale wind turbines [2]. Based on their comparisons of the different shapes,
two airfoils were considered for use in our wind turbine: E387 and S822. The other airfoil
shapes were either designed for much larger wind turbines or had very thin trailing edges,
which could easily break when our turbine is disassembled and reassembled as it is moved
around.
Of the two airfoils considered, the E387 had better performance characteristics over a
wide range of angles of attack. Figure 4 shows the lift to drag ratio at low Reynolds number
(Re = 100,000), which is a significant indicator of performance, since this lift is the driving
force on our turbine.
Because of its superior performance, the E387 blade was chosen for analysis and planned
use in our final design.
2.1.3

Other Parameters

The density of the air, , and the kinematic viscosity, , were taken as standard values at
15 C of 1.23 kg/m2 and 1.79 105 m2 /s.
A three bladed system was chosen. This configuration is more balanced in uneven
loading, such as when aligning to the wind, than a one or two blade design. It also is
somewhat more aerodynamically efficient, which contributes to the fact that three bladed
systems are dominate in wind power generation.
All fixed pitch wind-turbine rotors exhibit a preferred ratio of tip speed to wind speed,
which varies from 4-7 (according to Dr. Nelson). A value of 5 was chosen for design, which
is on the lower end in terms of efficiency.
Airfoil profiles have a preferred angle of attack at which they are most efficient, which
is at about 8 degrees for the E387 blade, see figure 4. As the wind turbine rotates, the
outer sections of the blades move at a higher speed than the part of the blade near the
rotor, resulting in a airflow direction that varies down the length of the blade. To keep the
airfoil seeing an optimum angle of attack, wind turbine blades are generally twisted. For
the analysis on varying the cord length, an ideal twist for the blades was utilizing with a
design wind speed of 15 m.p.h. (Figure 5). Determining the ideal amount of twist to use in
designing our blades is an important task which is the subject of another trade study.
Blades were evaluated over a wind speed range of 0-30 mph, which is the design wind
speed interval given at the start of this project. This range was found to be reasonable for

the model based on the choices for the other design parameters (higher wind speeds would
not have produced useful results because the experimental data used was being exceeded).

2.2

Equations

To analyze the performance of the wind turbine, each blade will be divided into equal sections,
and the aerodynamic performance will be evaluated at each section and the results will be
summed to give the performance characteristics of the whole airfoil.
Figure 1 shows a velocity diagram, including the incoming wind u velocity and the
velocity resulting from the rotation of the rotor, w. These velocities are combined into a
resultant velocity vector W , whose angle with the plane of rotation can be calculated. The
angle of attack can then be calculated because the angle is known based on the blade
geometry (amount of twist). The Reynolds number of the flow acting on the blade can also

Figure 1: Velocity and Force Diagram [1]

be calculated based on the resultant speed and the blade geometry,
Re =

W c
,

(2)

where W is the magnitude of the resultant air velocity, c is the cord length, is the density
of the air, and is its kinematic viscosity.
With the angle of attack () and the Reynolds number known, the lift and drag coefficients (cl & cd ) can be found from tables of experimental results [2]. A MATLAB code for
this lookup, that does a linear interpolation between columns is included in the appendix.
3

With those coefficients, the performance of the airfoil can be calculated. The torque (Q)
at each section is given by
1
Q = W 2 r [cl sin cd cos ] Bcr,
2

(3)

where r is the radius at that section and c is the local cord length. The thrust that acts
pushing on the rotor at each section is given by
1
T = W 2 [cl cos + cd sin ] Bcr.
2

(4)

Note that these equations are essentially taking the components of the lift and drag shown
in figure 1 and projecting them with and normal to the plane of rotation using the angle
. Also, the incremental power is simply the torque multiplied by the rotation speed, which
was calculated earlier using the tip-speed-ratio.
These values can be calculated for each section of the airfoil and then the results can
be summed to give the overall performance of the wind turbine. A MATLAB code was
developed for this analysis which is included in the appendix. The cord length and amount
of taper were then varied over a range of wind speeds.

Results

Figures 2 and 3, show the effect of varying the cord length on the power captured from
the wind and resulting thrust force. Each line represents a different cord length with 6 in
producing the highest power and 1 inch producing the least. Note that power and thrust
peak near the design wind speed of 15 mph. The performance decreases past this wind speed.
The graphs show increasing values past this peak, but that is due to the Reynolds number
going beyond what was measured experimentally. These results were calculated using a 50
% taper (the tip of the blade having 50% as much cord length as the base).
Figures 6 and 7 in the appendices show a similar effect for variations in taper. The
highest curve is for no taper, and the performance drops down to 100% taper (a pointed
tip).

600

500

Power, watts

400

300

200

100

10

15

20

25

30

Wind Speed, mph

Figure 2: Power vs. Wind Speed for Various Cord Lengths (1 in to 6 in)

60

50

Thrust Force, N

40

30

20

10

10

15

20

25

30

Wind Speed, mph

Figure 3: Thrust Force vs. Wind Speed for Various Cord Lengths (1 in to 6 in)

Conclusions

The results of this study show that the cord length and the amount of taper for the blades
on the wind turbine can have a significant effect on its performance. Increasing the cord
length or decreasing the amount of taper can increase the power captured from the wind
but at the cost of an increased thrust force. The amount of power generated proportional
to the resulting torque does not vary (8). This means that to maximize the performance of
our final design, one critical feature of the blades is their strength. Stronger blades will be
able to support more of a thrust load which is necessary for harnessing more power.
The other significant result of this study was demonstrating the effect of choosing a
design speed. The main design choice shaping the power curves shown (Figures 2 & 6) seem
to be the choice of design speed. Modifying the cord length or amount of taper shifts these
curves up and down, while their overall form stays the same.
The accuracy of this model can be evaluated by comparing the results with equation 1.
Since all of the curves at 15 miles per hour are showing more power being generated, there
is a discrepancy. The airfoil model appears to be overstating the actual amount of power
that can be harnessed from the wind. Part of this is due to the fact that the airfoil model
does not take into account generator efficiency as equation 1 does. Another source of error is
that interference effects (blades acting in the wake of each other as they spin) are not taken
into account. Equations for modeling these effects can be found in literature [1], but they
do not generally converge to a solution. The results presented do however, provide a useful
tool for comparing different wind turbine blade designs, even if real-world performance can
be expected to be less than predicted. Also, the study has highlighted the effects of choosing
the proper wind speed to optimize the blade twist to and the importance of strong materials
to bear the thrust loads placed on the blades and rotor.

5.1

Appendices
Appendix A-Supplementary Figures
60
50
40
30
20

L/D

10
0

10
20

E387
S822

30
15

10

10

Angle of Attack (), deg.

Figure 4: Lift to Drag Ratio for Two Airfoil Profiles [2]

15

70
60

, deg

50
40
30
20
10
0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

Distance from Center, m

Figure 5: Twist (angle from plane of rotation) of Blade Designed for 15 mph

600

500

Power, watts

400

300

200

100

10

15

20

25

Wind Speed, mph

Figure 6: Power vs. Wind Speed, Varying % Taper

30

60

50

Thrust Force, N

40

30

20

10

10

15

20

25

30

Wind Speed, mph

Figure 7: Thrust Force vs. Wind Speed, Varying % Taper

12
10

P/T, (m/s)

8
6
4
2
0
0

10

15

20

25

30

Wind Speed, mph

Figure 8: Power/Thrust Force vs. Wind Speed, Varying % Taper

5.2

Appendix B-MATLAB Code

function [CL, CD] = coeff_lookup(alpha, Re)

%[CL, CD] = coeff_lookup(alpha, Re)
%
%This function takes a lift angle in radians and returns the lift and drag
%coefficients based on the angle of attack and Reynolds number.
%
%Data is taken from Wind Tunnel Aerodynamic Tests of Six Airfoils for
Use on Small Wind Turbines
%NREL/SR-500-34515, Revised October 2004
%
%Data is interpolated between Reynolds numbers. Information below or
above the range returns the nearest value.
alpha = alpha/pi*180; % Convert alpha to degrees
A = [-6.24
-5.25
-4.24
-3.12
-2.13
-1.11
-0.08
0.95
1.96
3.00
4.00
5.04
6.04
7.07
8.11
9.17
10.11
11.14
12.20]; %Experiemental values for alpha in degrees (note: some data
runs had slightly different, but only about .01 deg.
CLdata = [0.000
-0.292 -0.138
-0.156 -0.015
-0.001 0.081
0.139
0.178
0.238
0.271
0.339
0.381
0.435
0.483

-0.332
-0.139
-0.028
0.064
0.184
0.288
0.393
0.502

-0.304

10

0.530
0.623
0.715
0.825
0.928
1.032
1.130
1.176
1.185
1.188
0.000
];

0.593
0.698
0.806
0.902
1.017
1.119
1.191
1.226
1.234
1.227
1.218

0.610
0.714
0.817
0.935
1.041
1.135
1.201
1.241
1.250
1.245
1.236

CDdata =[0.0000 0.0705 0.0669

0.0472 0.0352 0.0341
0.0293 0.0192 0.0169
0.0220 0.0150 0.0131
0.0187 0.0125 0.0110
0.0174 0.0102 0.0092
0.0202 0.0104 0.0083
0.0229 0.0110 0.0088
0.0266 0.0118 0.0092
0.0290 0.0126 0.0098
0.0317 0.0134 0.0105
0.0278 0.0138 0.0112
0.0239 0.0140 0.0115
0.0218 0.0149 0.0131
0.0215 0.0181 0.0176
0.0269 0.0265 0.0246
0.0363 0.0358 0.0343
0.0526 0.0550 0.0537
0.0000 0.0774 0.0774];
if((alpha > -6.5) || (alpha < 12.5))
[X row] = min(abs(A - alpha));
else
CD = 0;
CL = 0;
return;
end
if (Re <= 100000)
CD = CDdata(row,1);
CL = CLdata(row,1);
else if(Re >= 300000)
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CD = CDdata(row,3);
CL = CLdata(row,3);
else if ((Re > 100000) && (Re < 200000))
CD = CDdata(row,1) + (Re - 100000)*(CDdata(row,2) CDdata(row,1))/(100000);
CL = CLdata(row,1) + (Re - 100000)*(CLdata(row,2) CLdata(row,1))/(100000);
else if ((Re >= 200000) && (Re < 300000))
CD = CDdata(row,2) + (Re - 200000)*(CDdata(row,3) CDdata(row,2))/(100000);
CL = CLdata(row,2) + (Re - 200000)*(CLdata(row,3) CLdata(row,2))/(100000);
end
end
end
end
return
%John Larson
%2/27/08
%Trade Study, Cord Length of Wind Turbine Blades
%
clear all;
%---------------------------Input Data----------------------------B = 3; %Number of Blades
R = 24; %Blade Radius, inches
C = 4; %Cord at base, inches
taper = 0.5; %Taper, percent cord at tip over cord at base.
X = 5; %Tip Speed Ratio (R*omega/V_0)
V_0 = 15; %Free Stream Velocity, mph
N = 30; %number of sections
rho = 1.23; %Air Density, kg/m^3
mu = .0000179; %Kinematic Viscosity
%-------------Unit Conversions to SI ---------------------------R = R*0.0254; %Blade Radius, meters
C = C*0.0254; %Cord at base, meters
V_0 = V_0*0.44704; %Free Streem Velocity, m/s
%---------------Calculations for whole blade-------------------Omega = X*V_0/R; %Rotational speed, s^-1.
del_r = R/N;
r = (del_r:del_r:R);
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Alpha = 7/180*pi;
%------------Variable initializations--------------------phi = zeros(1,N);
theta = zeros(1,N);
q = zeros(1,N);
p = zeros(1,N);
t = zeros(1,N);
w = zeros(1,N);
W = zeros(1,N);
c = zeros(1,N);
solidity = zeros(1,N);

%Loop to design theta at V_0 = 15 mph.

for(i = 1:N)
%--------------Determine Factors at Section----------------------c(i) = C*(1 - r(i)/R*taper);%Local cord length
alpha(i) = Alpha;
u = V_0;
w(i) = r(i)*Omega;
W(i) = sqrt(u^2 + w(i).^2);
phi(i) = atan(u/w(i));
Re(i) = W(i)*c(i)*rho/mu; %Calculate Reynolds number
alpha(i) = Alpha;
[c_l, c_d] = coeff_lookup(alpha(i), Re(i)); %Look up Drag and Lift coefficients
q(i) = .5*rho*W(i)^2*r(i)*(c_l*sin(phi(i)) - c_d*cos(phi(i)))*B*c(i)*del_r;
p(i) = .5*rho*W(i)^2*Omega*r(i)*(c_l*sin(phi(i)) c_d*cos(phi(i)))*B*c(i)*del_r;
t(i) = .5*rho*W(i)^2*(c_l*cos(phi(i)) + c_d*sin(phi(i)))*B*c(i)*del_r;
theta(i) = phi(i) - alpha(i);
CL(i) = c_l;
CD(i) = c_d;
end
V_max = 30*0.44704; %Maximum Wind Speed
M = 40;
dV = V_max/M

13

C_max = 6*0.0254;
N_C = 6;
dC = C_max/N_C;
for(k = 1:N_C)
C = dC*k;
for(j=1:M)
V_0 = j*dV;
for(i=1:N)
c(i) = C*(1 - r(i)/R*taper);%Local cord length
u = V_0;
w(i) = r(i)*Omega;
W(i) = sqrt(u^2 + w(i).^2);
phi(i) = atan(u/w(i));
Re(i) = W(i)*c(i)*rho/mu; %Calculate Reynolds number
alpha(i) = phi(i) - theta(i);
[c_l, c_d] = coeff_lookup(alpha(i), Re(i)); %Look up Drag and
Lift coefficients
q(i) = .5*rho*W(i)^2*r(i)*(c_l*sin(phi(i)) c_d*cos(phi(i)))*B*c(i)*del_r;
p(i) = .5*rho*W(i)^2*Omega*r(i)*(c_l*sin(phi(i)) c_d*cos(phi(i)))*B*c(i)*del_r;
t(i) = .5*rho*W(i)^2*(c_l*cos(phi(i)) + c_d*sin(phi(i)))*B*c(i)*del_r;
CL(i) = c_l;
CD(i) = c_d;
end
P(k,j) = sum(p);
Q(k,j) = sum(q);
T(k,j) = sum(t);
V(k,j) = V_0/0.44704;
C_vary(k) = C
if(P(k,j) <= 0)
P(k,j) = 0;
Q(k,j) = 0;
T(k,j) = 0;
end
end
end
hold on
14

for (k = 1:N_C)
plot(V,P(k,:)./T(k,:))
%title(Power Extracted from the Wind at 15 mph, X = 5)
end
C_vary/0.0254
xlabel(X)
ylabel(Y)
%legend(E387, Thrust,4)

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr. Nelson for his assistance in helping us locate the necessary support
materials for this study and providing guidance on how to preform our analysis.

References
[1] Eggleston, David M. and Forrest S. Stoddard. Wind Turbine Engineering Design. Van
Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1987.
[2] Selig, Michael S. and Bryan D. McGranahan Wind Tunnel Aerodynamic Test of Six Airfoils for Use on Small Wind Turbines. National Renewable Energy Laboratory Subcontractor Report, October 2004. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/34515.pdf (accessed
2/26/08).

15