Aerodynamics of airfoil sections and their influence on wind turbine design and performance. (1st January 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Abdelrahman, Mohammad; Hassanein, Atef
• Is Part Of: International journal of engineering systems modelling and simulation. Volume 4:Number 3(2012)
• Page Start: 113
• Page End: 119
• Publication Date: 2012-01-01
• Subjects: low speed airfoils -- horizontal-axis wind turbines -- wind energy; Engineering systems -- Computer simulation -- Periodicals; Engineering systems -- Mathematical models -- Periodicals; 620.0042
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1755-9758

Abstract

The primary goal of this work is to reflect the effectiveness of the aerodynamic characteristics of blade airfoil-sections on the design and overall performance predictions of the horizontal-axis wind turbines. A post-stall model has been introduced and used throughout the work to secure reliable data in a wide range of angles of attack. It has been found that the general performance requirement of such airfoils is to exhibit a maximum lift-coefficient which is relatively insensitive to roughness effects and to have a low minimum drag coefficient and/or a high lift/drag ratio. The contribution of these parameters at the blade-tip region is very high and almost equal to the contributions of the mid and root regions together. Consequently, the airfoil section should be designed/selected according to its location along the blade to ensure its highest contribution to the overall performance of the rotor.