Numerical Studies of the Effects of Active and Passive Circulation Enhancement Concepts on Wind Turbine Performance

The aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine rotor equipped with circulation enhancement technology (trailing edge blowing or Gurney flaps) is investigated using a three-dimensional unsteady viscous flow analysis. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Phase VI horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) is chosen as the baseline configuration. Experimental data for the baseline case is used to validate the flow solver, prior to its use in exploring these concepts. Calculations have been performed for axial and yawed flow at several wind conditions. Results presented include radial distribution of the normal and tangential forces, shaft torque, root flap moment, and surface pressure distributions at selected radial locations. At low wind speed (7 m/s) where the flow is fully attached, it is shown that a Coanda jet at trailing edge is effective at increasing circulation resulting in an increase of lift and the chordwise thrust force. This leads to an increased amount of net power generation compared to the baseline configuration for moderate blowing coefficients (Cμ ≤ 0.075). A passive Gurney flap was found to increase the bound circulation and produce increased power in a manner similar to Coanda jet. At high wind speed (15 m/s) where the flow is separated, both the Coanda jet and Gurney flap become ineffective. The effects of these two concepts on the root bending moments have also been studied.

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