A Novel Low Reynolds Number Airfoil Design for Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

Shah, Haseeb; Mathew, Sathyajith; Lim, Chee Ming

doi:10.1260/0309-524x.38.4.377

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…To ensure the computed aerodynamic results are independent of the grid size, the density of grid was increased until negligible difference in solution is attained towards convergence. Such methodology of optimum grid selection is adapted from [35,36]. At the outset, the coarse gird named as Grid 1 containing 50,365 cells was made.…”

Section: Computational Methods Computational Domain and Solver Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reynolds number (Re), which is the ratio of inertia forces over viscous forces, is considered to be low if Re \ 5 9 10 5 [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]25]. Airfoils operating under such low Re, at certain range of angles of attack, a (measured in degree), face separation in the attached boundary layer due to the inability of the flow to overcome the adverse pressure gradients (APG).…”

Section: Laminar Separation Bubble (Lsb)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As detailed by the name, UBD5494 owns maximum thickness of 4.81 % at x/C = 22.8 % and camber of 5.4 % at x/C = 49.1 %. For further design specification see [7]. UBD5494 has been reported to produce higher L/D ratio compared to the other existing airfoils while operating at low Re and thus enhancing the performance of small HAWTs [7].…”

Section: Ubd5494 Airfoilmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The complex nature of flow about the blades in low Re warrants for a careful and 'clever' selection of the airfoil profiles in the SWT design process [7]. Typical airfoils designed for high Re, such as NACA airfoil series, are reported to underperform under such low Re conditions and consequently degrade the wind turbine performance [7,8]. Alongside, airfoils designed for low Re specifically for small HAWTs are found to be limited in the literature [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Numerical simulation of flow over an airfoil for small wind turbines using the $$\gamma - {\text{Re}}_{\theta }$$ γ - Re θ model

Shah

Mathew

Lim

2015

Int J Energy Environ Eng

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The mechanism of the laminar separation bubble and the laminar-turbulent transition over the airfoil UBD5494 is simulated in ANSYS-FLUENT using the transition gamma À Re h model at Reynolds number 6 9 10 4 , 1 9 10 5 , 1.5 9 10 5 , 2 9 10 5 and 3 9 10 5 . Modified constants of the Reynolds momentum thickness are incorporated in the model. The aerodynamic performance of the airfoil is also examined against the flow behaviour. Simulation results show that with the increase in angle of attack, laminar separation bubble moves towards the leading edge and at the same time contracts in size. It starts to expand after reaching the foremost point of the leading edge and then bursts, resulting in flow turbulence and stall. With decreasing Re, the size of the laminar separation bubble is found to be increasing and its progress towards the leading edge is noticed to be slower. The numerical results also indicated that UBD5494 airfoil has enhanced lift-to-drag ratio and desirable stall characteristics which are distinctively advantageous for the better performance of small wind turbine rotors.

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Section: Computational Methods Computational Domain and Solver Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Laminar Separation Bubble (Lsb)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ubd5494 Airfoilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Numerical simulation of flow over an airfoil for small wind turbines using the $$\gamma - {\text{Re}}_{\theta }$$ γ - Re θ model

Shah

Mathew

Lim

2015

Int J Energy Environ Eng

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“…Starting is often a critical issue for small blades as most do not have pitch adjustment. Recent two-dimensional optimizations considered starting and power extraction (Wood 2011, Pourrajabian and Mirzaei 2014, and Shah et al 2014. Clifton-Smith (2010) added noise.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-dimensional optimization of small wind turbine blades

Sessarego

Wood

2015

Renewables

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This paper describes a computer method to allow the design of small wind turbine blades for the multiple objectives of rapid starting, efficient power extraction, low noise, and minimal mass. For the sake of brevity, only the first two and the last objectives are considered in this paper. The optimization aimed to study a range of blade materials, from traditional fibreglass through sustainable alternatives to rapid prototyping plastic. Because starting performance depends on blade inertia, there is a complex interaction between the material properties and the aerodynamics. Example blades of 1.1 m length were designed to match a permanent magnet generator with a rated power of 750 W at 550 rpm. The materials considered were (a) traditional E-glass and polyester resin; (b) flax and polyester resin; (c) a typical rapid prototyping plastic, ABS-M30; and (d) timber. Except for (d), hollow blades were used to reduce the rotor inertia to help minimize starting time. Two airfoils are considered: the 10% thick SG6043 which has excellent lift:drag performance at low Reynolds number and the SD7062 whose extra thickness (14%) has some structural advantages, particularly for the weaker material (c). All blade materials gave feasible designs with material (d) the only one that required a blade shell thickness greater than the specified minimum value of 1% of the blade chord. Generally, the blade chord and twist increased as starting was given greater importance. In all cases, the associated increase in blade inertia was outweighed by the larger aerodynamic torque. Materials (a), (b), and (d) were better suited to the SG6043 airfoil whereas ABS-M30 benefitted from the thicker SD7062 section.

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Insight aerodynamic analysis on small‐scale wind turbines airfoils for low Reynolds number applications

Karthikeyan¹,

Suthakar

2022

Env Prog and Sustain Energy

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The selection of low Reynolds number airfoils for the application of small wind turbine rotor that results in greater rotor performance to the given operating condition is monotonous process. The 16 low Reynolds number airfoils specially developed for small‐scale wind turbine applications were shortlisted to determine the optimum set of airfoils for designing the 3 bladed and 2.25 m radius rotor with the tip speed ratio of 7. Numerical studies were conducted using subsonic airfoil design and analysis solver XFOIL. The aforesaid analysis was done for the Reynolds number of 49,637, 72,801, 115,820, 132,366, and 169,869, which are calculated from the velocity triangle for the subsequent free stream wind speed of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 m/s that represents the urban wind condition of India. The indispensable characteristics to improve the performance of wind turbines such as maximum lift to drag ratio, insensitivity to optimum angle of attack over a range of Reynolds numbers and linear transition locations are present in SD7037, E193, SD7032, A18, E387, SD7062, E193MOD, S1210, and S1223 airfoils. Detailed investigation on the aerodynamic characteristics and the effect of laminar separation bubble (LSB) on each airfoils would be helpful to identify the airfoils which needed to be studied for the further improvement of performances through grooving and gurney flaps.

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A Novel Low Reynolds Number Airfoil Design for Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

Cited by 23 publications

References 15 publications

Numerical simulation of flow over an airfoil for small wind turbines using the $$\gamma - {\text{Re}}_{\theta }$$ γ - Re θ model

Numerical simulation of flow over an airfoil for small wind turbines using the $$\gamma - {\text{Re}}_{\theta }$$ γ - Re θ model

Multi-dimensional optimization of small wind turbine blades

Insight aerodynamic analysis on small‐scale wind turbines airfoils for low Reynolds number applications

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