Aerodynamic load calculation

[hefe2345]

I want to calculate my blade's aerodynamic force with different wind velocities in the time domain. How can I use the Openfast code if I only want to calculate aerodynamic force due to different wind velocities? If AeroDyn is the tool, where can I find the user guide to pursue the task?

[ebranlard]

Hi @hefe2345

You can change the wind velocity in the InflowWind input file. You can setup different OpenFAST simulations with different main .fst files, each pointing to different InflowWind input files. If you have to run many simulations, it can be tedious to setup all the input files manually, you can try to script it using the python-toolbox and the following example:
https://github.com/OpenFAST/python-toolbox/blob/main/pyFAST/case_generation/examples/Example_Parametric.py

If you want to run simulations for a stiff structure, then the aerodyn_driver would be well suited, as it only uses AeroDyn and InflowWind. You will have to compile the aerodyn driver yourself to obtain the executable.

You'll find information about the aerodyn driver here:
https://openfast.readthedocs.io/en/dev/source/user/aerodyn/driver.html
Combined-case analyses can allow you to specify wind speeds into a table.

Examples of aerodyn_driver input files can be found here:.
https://github.com/OpenFAST/r-test/tree/main/modules/aerodyn