A Passive Flow Control Technique of a Small-Scale HAWT and TED Analysis Under Yaw Condition Based on Airfoil Concavity

Jianlong Ma, Qiuyan Li, Ming Zhao (), Yanan Chen and Xiaohui Chai
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Jianlong Ma: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010051, China
Qiuyan Li: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010051, China
Ming Zhao: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Modern Engineering Mechanics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Yanan Chen: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Modern Engineering Mechanics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Xiaohui Chai: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010051, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-26

Abstract: To mitigate the energy loss caused by flow separation of a 300 W small wind turbine, a passive flow control technique based on the airfoil concavity was proposed. The suction surface of the blade was modified with eight different types of concavity, the results showed that the b1 elliptical concavity, with B-spline curves front-and-rear transition, significantly affected the airflow of the airfoil’s suction surface, improving the wind turbine’s aerodynamic performance by 3.26% at maximum. Then, the flow field characteristics of b1, c1, and c4 concave airfoils with typical geometric features under axial flow conditions demonstrated that the b1 airfoil concavity had the greatest impact on flow separation. Moreover, yaw angle was induced, and the wind turbine’s turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and turbulent energy dissipation (TED) were investigated from the aspects of energy loss. The variation rule of the TED difference between the concave bottom and edge with yaw angle was summarized into an equation that quantitatively explained why the 10° yaw angle was the turning point of the power output, as well as the potential mechanism of concave airfoil-induced power enhancement. These findings provide a foundation for enhancing the aerodynamic performance of large megawatt-class wind turbines.

Keywords: passive flow control technique; airfoil concavity; TED; HAWT; mechanism (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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