International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering February 2013
Authors: J. Wendler, D. Marten, G. Pechlivanoglou, C. N. Nayeri, C. O. Paschereit

The software QBlade is developed as an open source framework for the simulation and design of wind turbines. QBlade utilizes the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) method for the simulation of horizontal axis-and a Double Multiple Stream tube (DMS) algorithm for the simulation of vertical axis wind turbine performance. For the design of custom airfoils and the computation of airfoil lift- and drag coefficient polars the viscous-inviscid coupledpanel method code XFOIL is integrated within the graphical user interface ofQBlade. Additionally a module for the extrapolation of airfoil polars, beyond the stall point, for a 360° rangeofangles of attack is integrated. The resulting functionality allows the use of QBlade as a comprehensive toolfor wind turbine design. QBlade is constantly being maintained, validated and advanced with newfunctionality. This paper describes the software and its modules, at the current state, in theory andapplication.