High-performance wind turbines using active flow control

O. Stalnov*, A. Kribus, A. Seifert

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

A feasibility study for implementing Active Flow Control (AFC) methods to improve the performance of wind turbines was performed. The experimental effort investigated the impact of using Tel-Aviv University (TAU) Piezo-fluidic AFC actuators to control boundary layer separation from thick airfoils that are suitable for wind turbine rotor blades. It was demonstrated that the AFC actuators can replace passive vortex generators (VGs) that are used for boundary layer separation delay today, without the inherent drag penalty that the passive devices cause. It has been shown that TAU fluidic actuators are suitable for flow control in wind turbine application due to fact that they are adjustable for wider Reynolds number range, while vortex generators are tuned to perform well in one design point. It was demonstrated that AFC can effectively double the maximum lift of this airfoil at low Reynolds numbers. A possible application is a significant reduction of the turbine start-up velocity. It was also found that even for a contaminated blade, AFC is capable to delay stall and decrease drag using low energy expenditure. The effectiveness of the AFC method was examined using a newly defined aerodynamic figure of merit (AFM).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTechnion Israel Institute of Technology - 48th Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences 2008
Pages900-912
Number of pages13
StatePublished - 2008
Event48th Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences 2008 - Tel-Aviv and Haifa, Israel
Duration: 27 Feb 200828 Feb 2008

Publication series

NameTechnion Israel Institute of Technology - 48th Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences 2008
Volume2

Conference

Conference48th Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences 2008
Country/TerritoryIsrael
CityTel-Aviv and Haifa
Period27/02/0828/02/08

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