Is outer_shape_bem "pitch_axis" a good name?

[WillC-DNV]

Hi

I'm looking in the WindIO ontology at the outer_shape_bem "pitch_axis" parameter. My understanding from the docs is that this parameter controls the aerofoil position relative to the reference axes, by specifying how far along the chordline the reference axes lies.

In general this location is not the pitch axis (e.g. due the the reference axis describing some prebend).

Why is it called the pitch_axis and would something like chordwise_position_of_reference_axis be more correct?

I guess that the pitch_axis name may come from a design process where you design the geometry first before applying prebend and sweep (via the reference axis). So at this point in the design the name pitch_axis makes sense?

Thanks!

[ptrbortolotti]

Hi Will, I agree with you, this is a good change. There was also the idea of adding a vertical offset between chord and reference axis. @fzahle will finalize soon the new blade structure for the IEA22 and that will be a good time to bring some of the changes listed here https://github.com/IEAWindTask37/windIO/wiki/The-next-round-of-improvements-to-windIO Thank you for your help here, Pietro

[jelmermc]

Agree! Perhaps adding explicitly in the name that it's relative, e.g. ‘chord_relative_stacking’ or ‘chord_relative_reference_position’?

regards, Jelmer

[fzahle]

In one of our internal geometry tools we call it “pitch axis aft leading edge” (pale). In our case, we define a reference axis, so what about reference_axis_aft_le?

[jelmermc]

Agree, that would also be clear.