How can I calculate torque from wind for a specific wind turbine design?

[dcaldwell]

how would i go about finding the torque that wind turbine blades would produce with my wind conditions, for example 8' diameter blades at 10 mph wind?

 

[Dr Lots-o'watts]

Maybe you could somehow fix a suspended scale between the ground and the end of a rising blade.

 

[russ_watters]

It isn't something that can be easily calculated (and certainly not with that information) and typically not a relevant thing to know anyway.

 

[litup]

how would i go about finding the torque that wind turbine blades would produce with my wind conditions, for example 8' diameter blades at 10 mph wind?

I think you are asking how much torque it produces as it relates to generating electrical power. If so, you can just measure the output of the system, the generator produces X amount of power at Y MPH wind. The blades have a huge effect on conversion efficiency so there would have to be a lot more data on blade type, the angle of attack, etc. Also mechanical inefficiencies would play into how much actual power comes off the wind system. You could measure the torque on a given blade by holding the blades from moving and hooking the shaft to a measuring device, for instance, a pulley on the blade shaft hooked to a weight scale and just reading how many pounds or Kg's the system generates. Of course that would be on an already existing blade and tower. You would need a sophisticated stress analysis software to get an idea of the torque before you design it. It would not be a simple analysis.

 

[FlexGunship]

The company I work for is currently contracted for wind turbine designs, so this is a fortunate question.

In actuality, there are a lot more variables here. You need air density (based on temperature and pressure), and you need to know camber (upper and lower), angle of attack of the blades, chord length of the airfoil, blade length, and taper.