A novel quasi-steady CFD framework for wind turbine blades using equivalent inflow transformation

To overcome the prohibitive computational costs of full three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for large wind turbine blades, this work proposes a high-fidelity quasi-static CFD model for single-blade analysis using equivalent inflow transformation. Validation studies confirm the model’s effectiveness in evaluating wind turbine aerodynamics, showing less than 5% deviation from conventional three-blade simulations in both energy capture and axial thrust calculations. Nevertheless, the simplified single-blade model demonstrates a significant reduction in mesh size, resulting in substantial savings in computational resources. Comparative assessments also reveal closer agreement with actual turbine operational data than traditional Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory. Furthermore, the simplified model effectively captures key aerodynamic characteristics of the blade surface, including flow separation, vortex formation, and pressure distribution, which are critical for blade design and optimization. These findings indicate that the proposed quasi-static CFD model serves as an efficient and cost-effective analytical tool for wind turbine blade design. Future research will extend the application of this model to more complex operating conditions and integrated aeroelastic analysis.