Richard J.A.M. Stevens

Professor at the University of Twente

Wind energy · Turbulence · Environmental flows

Publication 117 · Wind-farm flow

Capturing tip-corrected blade element momentum loading with wind turbine models

D. Selvatici, R.J.A.M. Stevens, Renew. Energ. 241, 122265 (2025).

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Main finding

Correcting the velocity sampled by the actuator-line model removes a tip-loading bias relative to the chosen tip-corrected blade-element-momentum target. Agreement with that target does not establish general turbine or wake fidelity.

Blade loads, velocity ratio and angle of attack for two actuator line methods against theory
How to read the figure. Normal (a) and tangential (b) blade loads, the velocity ratio (c) and the angle of attack (d) along the blade, for blade element momentum theory with and without a tip correction, a classic actuator line model, and the corrected method. Near the tip the classic model departs from the tip-corrected target while the corrected method follows it: fixing the sampled velocity fixes the tip-load bias. This restores a chosen loading target rather than validating turbine or wake fidelity in general. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 4. D. Selvatici and R.J.A.M. Stevens (2025). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

Correcting the sampled actuator-line velocity removes a tip-loading bias relative to the chosen tip-corrected BEM target.

Research context

Earlier coarse-grid and actuator-line studies show that sampled velocity, force projection, and grid support control the resolved loading. This paper adds a blade-element-momentum-consistent tip correction; later yawed-vortex work examines wake evolution rather than only tip loading.

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