Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine Mesh Generator

Abstract

VAWTGen is a mesh generator for creating a finite element beam mesh of arbitrary vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT). The software accepts input files specifying tower and blade structural and aerodynamic descriptions and constructs a VAWT using a minimal set of inputs. VAWTs with an arbitrary number of blades can be constructed with or without a central tower. Strut connections between the tower and blades can be specified in an arbitrary manner. The software also facilitates specifying arbitrary joints between structural components and concentrated structural tenns (mass and stiffness). The output files which describe the VAWT configuration are intended to be used with the Offshore Wind ENergy Simulation (OWENS) Toolkit software for structural dynamics analysis of VAWTs. Furthermore, VAWTGen is useful for visualizing output from the OWENS analysis software.