4.2. AeroDyn Users Guide and Theory Manual

This document offers a quick reference guide for the AeroDyn software program. It is intended to be used by the general user in combination with other OpenFAST manuals. The manual will be updated as new releases are issued and as needed to provide further information on advancements or modifications to the software. For reference, additional materials such as presentation slides, development plans, and publications can be downladed from the list below.

• Development and Validation of a New Blade Element Momentum Skewed-Wake Model within AeroDyn

• The Unsteady Aerodynamics Module for FAST 8

• Added-Mass Effects on a Horizontal-Axis Tidal Turbine Using FAST v8

• Predicting Cavitation on Marine and Hydrokinetic Turbine Blades with AeroDyn V15.04

• Development Plan for the Aerodynamic Linearization of OpenFAST

• AeroDyn Meshes and Related Calculations

• Calculation of Buoyancy on a Marine Hydrokinetic Turbine in AeroDyn

The documentation here was derived from AeroDyn Manual for AeroDyn version 15.04 by J.Jonkman et al.

• 4.2.1. Introduction
• 4.2.2. Coordinate systems
  • 4.2.2.1. Inertial system (i)
  • 4.2.2.2. Hub system (h)
  • 4.2.2.3. Polar system (p)
  • 4.2.2.4. Cone system (c)
  • 4.2.2.5. Blade system (b)
  • 4.2.2.6. Airfoil system (a)
  • 4.2.2.7. Legacy (n-t) system
  • 4.2.2.8. Local polar system (l)
  • 4.2.2.9. Legacy local output system (w)
  • 4.2.2.10. Tower system
• 4.2.3. Input Files
  • 4.2.3.1. Important changes introduced in v4.0
  • 4.2.3.2. Introduction
  • 4.2.3.3. General Options
  • 4.2.3.4. Environmental Conditions
  • 4.2.3.5. Blade-Element/Momentum Theory Options
  • 4.2.3.6. BEM Algorithm options
  • 4.2.3.7. Shear corrections
  • 4.2.3.8. Dynamic Wake / Dynamic inflow model
  • 4.2.3.9. OLAF – cOnvecting LAgrangian Filaments (Free Vortex Wake) Theory Options
  • 4.2.3.10. Unsteady Airfoil Aerodynamics Options
  • 4.2.3.11. Airfoil Information
  • 4.2.3.12. Rotor/Blade Properties
  • 4.2.3.13. Hub Properties
  • 4.2.3.14. Nacelle Properties
  • 4.2.3.15. Tail fin AeroDynamics
  • 4.2.3.16. Tower Influence and Aerodynamics
  • 4.2.3.17. Outputs
  • 4.2.3.18. Nodal Outputs
  • 4.2.3.19. Tail fin outputs
  • 4.2.3.20. General inputs
  • 4.2.3.21. Polar-based model inputs
  • 4.2.3.22. Unsteady slender body (USB) model inputs
• 4.2.4. Output Files
  • 4.2.4.1. Echo Files
  • 4.2.4.2. Summary File
  • 4.2.4.3. Results Files
• 4.2.5. Modeling Considerations
  • 4.2.5.1. Environmental Conditions
  • 4.2.5.2. Temporal and Spatial Discretization
  • 4.2.5.3. Model Options Under Operational and Parked/Idling Conditions
  • 4.2.5.4. Linearization
• 4.2.6. AeroDyn Driver
  • 4.2.6.1. Compiling the driver
  • 4.2.6.2. Driver inputs and options
  • 4.2.6.3. AeroDyn inputs for multiple turbines
  • 4.2.6.4. Examples of driver input files
• 4.2.7. AeroDyn Theory
  • 4.2.7.1. Steady BEM
  • 4.2.7.2. Dynamic BEM Theory (DBEMT)
  • 4.2.7.3. Tower shadow models
  • 4.2.7.4. Buoyancy
• 4.2.8. Unsteady Aerodynamics
  • 4.2.8.1. Theory
  • 4.2.8.2. Inputs
  • 4.2.8.3. Calculating Default Airfoil Coefficients
  • 4.2.8.4. Outputs
  • 4.2.8.5. Aeroelastic simulation of a 2D section
  • 4.2.8.6. Driver
• 4.2.9. Tail fin Aerodynamics Theory
  • 4.2.9.1. Notations
  • 4.2.9.2. Polar-based model
  • 4.2.9.3. Unsteady slender body model
• 4.2.10. References
• 4.2.11. Appendix
  • 4.2.11.1. AeroDyn Input Files
  • 4.2.11.2. AeroDyn List of Output Channels