Capturing tip-corrected blade element momentum loading with wind turbine models

Wind turbine models integrated into flow solvers often overestimate blade loading in the tip region. This overestimation arises from overestimating the sampled velocity and angle of attack near the blade tip. We use the ratio of tip-corrected to non-tip-corrected axial and tangential velocity components from Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory to consistently correct the sampled velocity along the blade. This correction accurately captures both the angle of attack and tip loading and it does not require any inter-processor communication, a desirable feature in modern computing systems like GPUs. The method has been validated against a vortex-based smearing correction consistent with lifting line theory and BEM with tip correction, using both NREL-5MW and DTU-10MW turbines and adopting different inflow conditions and grid discretizations. The correction is demonstrated for the Actuator Line Method. It requires only basic turbine data, such as tip speed ratio and airfoil characteristics, making it adaptable to other turbine models, such as the actuator disk with rotation.