Researchers from Sandia’s wind energy program have released a new version of the software tool Numerical Manufacturing and Design, or NuMAD, for the structural design and modeling of wind turbine blades.
NuMAD version 3.0, which was funded by DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, is an object-oriented, open-source software program written in the MATLAB programming language that simplifies the process of creating a 3D model of a wind turbine blade. The tool manages all blade information, including aerodynamic properties, material properties and material placement. Blade data can be modified by a structural optimizer in NuMAD, or it can be used to run other tools in a stand-alone mode.
Read the full Lab News article.
Learn more about Sandia’s Wind Energy Technologies program.
Image Caption: NuMAD is an open-source software program that simplifies the process of creating 3D models of wind turbine blades. The program selects the best materials and geometry for a blade, while minimizing its weight. Graphic by Ernesto Camarena