Towards a knowledge base for a wind electric pumping system design

A knowledge base tool for wind electric pumping system design has been presented. In this paper, the used approach is illustrated through the rotor component. The performance of the rotor is predicted using the axial momentum theory combined with the blade element theory. The design variables of the blade are its geometry and the airfoil aerodynamic characteristics which are introduced into the tool using the analytic model AERODAS. To validate the developed model, it is formulated as a Mixed Complementarity (Problem and is solved using the GAMS software (Generalized Algebraic Modeling System). The model validation refers to the experimental data of NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) obtained using the NASA Ames wind tunnel. The validated model is then used to design a new blade for a small wind turbine which we attempt to manufacture locally.