Select a Link:select

Resources:resources

Links:links

PROPID - Aerodynamic Design Software for Horizontal Axis Wind TurbinesPROPID

PROPID is a computer program for the design and analysis of horizontal axis wind turbines. A key strength of the method is its inverse design capability. For instance, the method will allow the designer to specify directly the peak power for a stall-regulated wind turbine. The iterative inverse solver is ZONDthen used to adjust one of the user selected inputs so that the desired peak rotor power is achieved. More generally, the method permits the designer to specify several performance characteristics as long as an equal number of input parameters are left to be automatically determined by the method, hence the term "inverse". The approach is based on a similar design methodology for airfoils and cascades (UIUC codes PROFOIL and CASCADE).

PROPID not only allows for the specification of single variables, like peak power, but also distributions, like the blade lift distribution and/or axial induction factor distribution. Such distributions are achievable as long as another distribution is left to be determined, that being specifically the blade twist and/or chord distributions.

The method also has multipoint design capabilities. For example, the blade lift coefficient distribution can be prescribed for one condition while simultaneously the axial induction factor distribution can be prescribed for a different condition. In addition, the designer can simultaneously specify the peak rotor power constraint, which may correspond to yet another condition.

Other desirable features of the code are that it allows for rapid analysis, accommodates different airfoil data for each blade element, and includes a 3-D post-stall airfoil performance synthesization method for better peak power prediction at high wind speed. It should be noted that PROPID is an aerodynamic design code for "specialists", i.e. a certain level of experience in aerodynamics is required to make efficient use of the code.

PROPID uses the industry standard analysis method embodied in the PROPSH blade-element/momentum code (Tangler), which itself is a modified version of the PROP code (Hibbs and Radkey / Wilson and Walker). The name PROPID is pronounced "Prop-I-D" and derives from "PROP" together with "I-D" for its inverse design capabilities.

PROPID SoftwarePROPID Software

The code and documentation is distributed as a PC executable along with its example files and documentation. The current version is given below:

PROPID DocumentationPROPID Documentation

The main PROPID User Manual is here: UserManual-531.pdf. Additional documention is included with the full package.