Abstract

Robust design of windmill airfoils is carried out in the presence of uncertain environmental conditions. The formulation follows a multi-objective optimization approach, where the mean aerodynamic performance is maximized while sensitivity to changes in wind conditions is kept to a minimum. Due to the complex nature of the physical processes involved, a nonintrusive collocation approach is used to quantify uncertainties, coupled with a RANS solver for the fluid flow. A robust design optimization framework is thus assembled, where Genetic Algorithms are used to iteratively evolve section parameters toward optimal designs. Expectations and variances are computed with a Smolyak sparse grid approach combined with nested Clenshaw-Curtis quadrature, leading to a minimization of the number of deterministic solutions needed. The results show the potential applicability of the proposed methodology to the robust design of industrial devices.

References

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Author (organization or company)

• Hiroki TACHIKAWA（Fundamental Technology Research Center）
• Daniele Schiavazziz（University of California, San Diego）
• Toshiyuki ARIMA（Automobile R&D Center）
• Gianluca Iaccarino（Stanford University）

Publication Information

Article of Honda R&D Technical Review Vol.26 No.1 (160 - 165)

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