Numerical Manufacturing And Design tool

Given the complex geometry of most wind turbine blades, structural modeling using the finite element method is generally performed using a unique model for each particular blade analysis. Development time (often considerable) spent creating a model for one blade may not aid in the development of a model for a different blade. A new software tool, NuMAD, was created in an effort to reduce model development time and increase the usability of advanced finite element analysis capabilities. This discussion reviews some of the improvements and modifications to NuMAD which have occurred in the last year.