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BEM simulation
Quote from Rick on 15. May 2024, 20:35Hi,
I would like to enquire is it possible to run BEM simulation through SIL(python)? From what I have read so far, it only allows turbine simulation to be run in the script. Thanks.
Regards,
Rick
Hi,
I would like to enquire is it possible to run BEM simulation through SIL(python)? From what I have read so far, it only allows turbine simulation to be run in the script. Thanks.
Regards,
Rick

Quote from David on 16. May 2024, 14:11Hello Rick,
you are correct, only time domain simulations are possible in the SLI, but not steady BEM.
However, you could setup an aerodynamic turbine definition, set the “Convergence Acceleration Time” to a positive value, say 100s, and then evaluate your rotor design for a given TSR, or rpm/windspeed combination.
These simulations will then converge very quickly and you essentially have a steady BEM in the SIL interface.
BR,
David
Hello Rick,
you are correct, only time domain simulations are possible in the SLI, but not steady BEM.
However, you could setup an aerodynamic turbine definition, set the “Convergence Acceleration Time” to a positive value, say 100s, and then evaluate your rotor design for a given TSR, or rpm/windspeed combination.
These simulations will then converge very quickly and you essentially have a steady BEM in the SIL interface.
BR,
David
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Quote from Tiago Teles on 30. January 2025, 13:52Hi David,
Is it still not possible to perform a steady BEM simulation using QBlade SIL?
Kind Regards,
Tiago Teles
Hi David,
Is it still not possible to perform a steady BEM simulation using QBlade SIL?
Kind Regards,
Tiago Teles

Quote from David on 30. January 2025, 14:39Hi Tiago,
the SIL is primarily designed for interfacing with time-domain simulations, so there isn’t a dedicated steady BEM interface.
However, by setting up an aerodynamics-only rotor definition and configuring the simulation as described in my previous response, you can effectively obtain a converged steady BEM result for a given TSR within a faction of a second.
This functionality could then be encapsulated within a Python function to essentially provide a steady BEM capability.
Is there any aspect of this approach that doesn’t suit your application?
BR,
David
Hi Tiago,
the SIL is primarily designed for interfacing with time-domain simulations, so there isn’t a dedicated steady BEM interface.
However, by setting up an aerodynamics-only rotor definition and configuring the simulation as described in my previous response, you can effectively obtain a converged steady BEM result for a given TSR within a faction of a second.
This functionality could then be encapsulated within a Python function to essentially provide a steady BEM capability.
Is there any aspect of this approach that doesn’t suit your application?
BR,
David
Quote from Tiago Teles on 31. January 2025, 12:07Hi David,
Thanks for your quick response.
What you described should work, I only inquired about steady BEM simulations because I don’t need any of the additional features of the time-domain simulation. From your response, I assume it is also not possible to perform XFoil analysis using SIL?
kind Regards,
Tiago Teles
Hi David,
Thanks for your quick response.
What you described should work, I only inquired about steady BEM simulations because I don’t need any of the additional features of the time-domain simulation. From your response, I assume it is also not possible to perform XFoil analysis using SIL?
kind Regards,
Tiago Teles

Quote from David on 31. January 2025, 16:48Hi Tiago,
even if you dont need any of the time domain features. Running the steady BEM in the time domain will be fast enough and generate all the data that you require.
Regarding XFoil: I had considered implementing such functionality; however, QBlade merely acts as a “wrapper” for XFoil, interfacing with the XFoil executable directly (dounf in the /Binaries folder). Instead of accessing this functionality through QBlade, it is more straightforward to use XFoil directly within your script. For this reason, we decided against integrating this feature into QBlade’s SIL.
BR,
David
Hi Tiago,
even if you dont need any of the time domain features. Running the steady BEM in the time domain will be fast enough and generate all the data that you require.
Regarding XFoil: I had considered implementing such functionality; however, QBlade merely acts as a “wrapper” for XFoil, interfacing with the XFoil executable directly (dounf in the /Binaries folder). Instead of accessing this functionality through QBlade, it is more straightforward to use XFoil directly within your script. For this reason, we decided against integrating this feature into QBlade’s SIL.
BR,
David
Quote from Tiago Teles on 31. January 2025, 20:07Hi David,
In my view, the advantage of using XFoil through QBlade would be that the airfoil geometry is already defined. Considering this is not possible, what would be the best approach to extract the airfoil geometry at the many radial sections from the .qpr files? Is selecting the option “Copy graph data to the clip board” in the airfoil design module the easiest manual approach?
kind Regards,
Tiago Teles
Hi David,
In my view, the advantage of using XFoil through QBlade would be that the airfoil geometry is already defined. Considering this is not possible, what would be the best approach to extract the airfoil geometry at the many radial sections from the .qpr files? Is selecting the option “Copy graph data to the clip board” in the airfoil design module the easiest manual approach?
kind Regards,
Tiago Teles

Quote from David on 31. January 2025, 20:34Hi,
when a simulation in QBlade is exported in the .sim ASCII format, the turbine (.trb file) and all associated polars (.plr) and airfoils (.afl) are also exported as ASCII.
You can directly modify the polars or airfoils and then load the corresponding .sim simulation definition file back into QBlade’s SIL to carry out simulations.
BR,
David
Hi,
when a simulation in QBlade is exported in the .sim ASCII format, the turbine (.trb file) and all associated polars (.plr) and airfoils (.afl) are also exported as ASCII.
You can directly modify the polars or airfoils and then load the corresponding .sim simulation definition file back into QBlade’s SIL to carry out simulations.
BR,
David
Quote from Tiago Teles on 5. February 2025, 14:17Hi David,
Thanks for your response. As you mentioned, when exporting the simulation in the .sim ASCII format, a .afl file containing the airfoil geometry is also generated. I have been able to verify this behavior when using the QBlade executable. Is it possible to export the .afl files using SIL?
Kind Regards,
Tiago Teles
Hi David,
Thanks for your response. As you mentioned, when exporting the simulation in the .sim ASCII format, a .afl file containing the airfoil geometry is also generated. I have been able to verify this behavior when using the QBlade executable. Is it possible to export the .afl files using SIL?
Kind Regards,
Tiago Teles

Quote from David on 6. February 2025, 13:01Hi Tiago,
you can directly load a .sim definition, generated in the GUI version, into QBlade’s SIL.
There is no need to “export” a simulation from the SIL, the SIL simply takes a simulation definition (.sim) file, runs the simulation and can then export result. The .sim files can be generated any way you like, but the intended way is that they are generated from the QBlade GUI app.
Then, before the .sim file is loaded into the SIL you can directly modify its ASCII files, e.g. by changing polars, that may have been recalculated with XFoil.
BR,
David
Hi Tiago,
you can directly load a .sim definition, generated in the GUI version, into QBlade’s SIL.
There is no need to “export” a simulation from the SIL, the SIL simply takes a simulation definition (.sim) file, runs the simulation and can then export result. The .sim files can be generated any way you like, but the intended way is that they are generated from the QBlade GUI app.
Then, before the .sim file is loaded into the SIL you can directly modify its ASCII files, e.g. by changing polars, that may have been recalculated with XFoil.
BR,
David
