Airfoil Control of Small Wind Turbines

Although the latest technologies have achieved outstanding improvements in the energy capture efficiency of wind power turbines, lack of cost effectiveness remains a major disadvantage. The problem lies in the limitation of operating effectively over a wide range of wind speeds. A variety of wind tu...

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Main Authors: Dean Sesalim, Jamal Naser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-03-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/1217
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author Dean Sesalim
Jamal Naser
author_facet Dean Sesalim
Jamal Naser
author_sort Dean Sesalim
collection DOAJ
description Although the latest technologies have achieved outstanding improvements in the energy capture efficiency of wind power turbines, lack of cost effectiveness remains a major disadvantage. The problem lies in the limitation of operating effectively over a wide range of wind speeds. A variety of wind turbines have implemented variable control systems such as pitch control to extend the range of wind speeds at which the turbines can operate efficiently. These systems, however, have negatively impacted on the cost of wind energy. This paper investigates the possibility of achieving variable speed control performance by means of airfoil design for an uncontrolled wind turbine. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), this study optimizes the maximum thickness location of the S809 airfoil profile implemented in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Phase VI wind turbine blades to verify the design parameter most relevant to the objective of this research. The aerodynamic characteristics of the resulting design are compared to those of the baseline model. The results do indeed indicate the ability of the airfoil design to improve the power curve without the use of control systems.
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spelling doaj.art-1898994c6151414cb4e93ba7683af5102024-03-12T16:43:46ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732024-03-01175121710.3390/en17051217Airfoil Control of Small Wind TurbinesDean Sesalim0Jamal Naser1Department of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, AustraliaDepartment of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, AustraliaAlthough the latest technologies have achieved outstanding improvements in the energy capture efficiency of wind power turbines, lack of cost effectiveness remains a major disadvantage. The problem lies in the limitation of operating effectively over a wide range of wind speeds. A variety of wind turbines have implemented variable control systems such as pitch control to extend the range of wind speeds at which the turbines can operate efficiently. These systems, however, have negatively impacted on the cost of wind energy. This paper investigates the possibility of achieving variable speed control performance by means of airfoil design for an uncontrolled wind turbine. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), this study optimizes the maximum thickness location of the S809 airfoil profile implemented in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Phase VI wind turbine blades to verify the design parameter most relevant to the objective of this research. The aerodynamic characteristics of the resulting design are compared to those of the baseline model. The results do indeed indicate the ability of the airfoil design to improve the power curve without the use of control systems.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/1217wind turbine performanceairfoil designwind turbine simulationcomputational fluid dynamics
spellingShingle Dean Sesalim
Jamal Naser
Airfoil Control of Small Wind Turbines
Energies
wind turbine performance
airfoil design
wind turbine simulation
computational fluid dynamics
title Airfoil Control of Small Wind Turbines
title_full Airfoil Control of Small Wind Turbines
title_fullStr Airfoil Control of Small Wind Turbines
title_full_unstemmed Airfoil Control of Small Wind Turbines
title_short Airfoil Control of Small Wind Turbines
title_sort airfoil control of small wind turbines
topic wind turbine performance
airfoil design
wind turbine simulation
computational fluid dynamics
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/1217
work_keys_str_mv AT deansesalim airfoilcontrolofsmallwindturbines
AT jamalnaser airfoilcontrolofsmallwindturbines