A numerical study was conducted to examine the impact of rotor solidity and blade number on the aerodynamic performance of small wind turbines. Blade element momentum theory and lifting line based wake theory were utilized to parametrically assess the effects of blade number and solidity on rotor performance. Increasing the solidity beyond what is traditionally used for electric generating wind turbines led to increased power coefficients at lower tip speed ratios, with an optimum between 3 and 4. An increase in the blade number at a given solidity also increased the maximum C p for all cases examined. The possibility of a higher aerodynamic power extraction from solidity or blade number increases could lead to a higher overall system power production. Additional advantages over current 5% to 7% solidity, high speed designs would include lower noise, lower cut-in wind speed, and less blade erosion.

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This study presents a numerical optimization of a ducted wind turbine (DWT) to maximize power output. The cross section of the duct was an Eppler 423 airfoil, which is a cambered airfoil with a high lift coefficient (CL). The rotor was modeled as an actuator disk, and the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) k–ε model was used to simulate the flow. The optimization determined the optimal placement and angle for the duct relative to the rotor disk, as well as the optimal coefficient of thrust for the rotor. It was determined that the optimal coefficient of thrust is similar to an open rotor in spite of the fact that the local flow velocity is modified by the duct. The optimal angle of attack of the duct was much larger than the separation angle of attack of the airfoil in a freestream. Large angles of attack did not induce separation on the duct because the expansion caused by the rotor disk helped keep the flow attached. For the same rotor area, the power output of the largest DWT was 66% greater than an open rotor. For the same total cross-sectional area of the entire device, the DWT also outperformed an open rotor, exceeding Betz's limit by a small margin.

Abstract. The design of a ducted wind turbine modeled using an actuator disc was studied using Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The design variables included the rotor thrust coefficient, the angle of attack of the duct cross section, the radial gap between the rotor and the duct, and the axial location of the rotor in the duct. Two different power coefficients, the rotor power coefficient (based on the rotor swept area) and the total power coefficient (based on the exit area of the duct), were used as optimization objectives. The optimal value of thrust coefficients for all designs was nearly constant, having a value between 0.9 and 1. The rotor power coefficient was sensitive to rotor gap but was insensitive to the rotor's axial location for positions ranging from upstream of the throat to nearly half the distance down the duct. Compared to the design that maximized rotor power coefficient, the design for maximal total power coefficient was characterized by a smaller angle of attack, a smaller rotor gap, and a downstream placement of the rotor. The insensitivity of power output to the rotor position implies that a rotor placed further downstream in the duct could produce the same power with a considerably smaller duct exit area and thus a greater total power coefficient. The design for that maximized total power coefficient exceeded Betz's limit with a total power coefficient of 0.67.

The dcvelopment of the leading-edge vortex flow on dclta wings with emphasis on the three-dimensional scparated shear layer and the stationary, streamwise vortical structures that appear has been experimentally investigated. Flow-field velocities and pressures were obtaincd through five-hole probe measurements for three wing swceps and several angles of attack and Reynolds numbers ranging from 500,000 to 1,250,000. Two volumetric data sets were obtained above one planform at two angles of attack, allowing the full vector field to be examincd. Quantitative measurements allowed the path of shear layer vortex structures to be traced around the primary vortex. The size and frequency of these shear layer structures were observed to he a function of wing sweep angle and angle of attack. It is proposed that their cxistence may he due to an instability similar to the crossflow instability in a swept wing boundary layer. RCc S