Flow Separation Control and Aeroacoustic Effects of a Leading-Edge Slat over a Wind Turbine Blade

Sami Bouterra, Riyadh Belamadi, Abdelouaheb Djemili and Adrian Ilinca ()
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Sami Bouterra: Energy Systems Technology Laboratory, LTSE, National Higher School of Technology and Engineering, Annaba 23005, Algeria
Riyadh Belamadi: Energy Systems Technology Laboratory, LTSE, National Higher School of Technology and Engineering, Annaba 23005, Algeria
Abdelouaheb Djemili: Mechanical of Materials and Industrial Maintenance Laboratory LR3MI, Mechanical Engineering Department, Badji Mokhtar University, Annaba 23000, Algeria
Adrian Ilinca: Mechanical Engineering Department, École de Technologie Supérieure, Université du Québec, 1100 rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Bureau A-1966, Montréal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-36

Abstract: To enable wind energy to surpass fossil fuels, the power-to-cost ratio of wind turbines must be competitive. Increasing installation capacities and wind turbine sizes indicates a strong trend toward clean energy. However, larger rotor diameters, reaching up to 170 m, introduce stability and aeroelasticity concerns and aerodynamic phenomena that cause noise disturbances. These issues hinder performance enhancement and social acceptance of wind turbines. A critical aerodynamic challenge is flow separation on the blade’s suction side, leading to a loss of lift and increased drag, ultimately stalling the blade and reducing turbine performance. Various active and passive flow control techniques have been studied to address these issues, with passive techniques offering the advantage of no external energy requirement. High-lift devices, such as leading-edge slats, are promising in improving aerodynamic performance by controlling flow separation. This study explores the geometric parameters of slats and their effects on wind turbine blades’ aerodynamic and acoustic performance. Using an adequate turbulence model at Re = 10 6 for angles of attack from 14° to 24°, 77 slat configurations were evaluated. Symmetric slats showed superior performance at high angles of attack, while slat chord length was inversely proportional to aerodynamic improvement. A hybrid method was employed to predict noise, revealing slat-induced modifications in eddy topology and increased low- and high-frequency noise. This study’s main contribution is correlating slat-induced aerodynamic improvements with their acoustic effects. The directivity reveals a 10–15 dB reduction induced by the slat at 1 kHz, while the slat induces higher noise at higher frequencies.

Keywords: wind turbine airfoil; flow separation control; slat; aeroacoustics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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