Preliminary design and optimization of a 20MW reference wind turbine

We use the capabilities of a multi-disciplinary design tool to provide a definition of a 20 MW wind turbine. Starting from an aero-elastic model obtained through a classic scaling procedure, we conduct an aero-structural optimization of the rotor through a staged redesign process, in which we optimize primary characteristics of the rotor including the blade shape, the solidity and a certain amount of native structural tailoring. The process is based on a series of parametric analysis, in order to assess the impact of a variation of macro design parameters on the fundamental performance of the turbine. The redesign activity shows remarkable advantages in terms of blade mass reduction and load alleviation, highlighting directions for the development and optimization of very large rotors.