Novel Image Analysis Method for Blade Aerodynamic Performance on Operational Turbine

The Science of Making Torque from Wind 2014

Swytink-Binnema, Nigel^1 ; Johnson, David A.^1

Wind Energy Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada^1

关键词: Blade aerodynamic;    Coverage area;    Image analysis method;    Processing power;    Stall-regulated;    Tuft flow visualisation;    Wind speed;    Wind turbine blades;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/524/1/012016/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1742-6596/524/1/012016

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Tuft flow visualisation has been used to study aerodynamic stall on wind turbine blades for several decades. In recent years, advances in the processing power of personal computers have made digital image processing vastly more accessible. In this paper, therefore, a novel method is presented to digitally analyse tuft flow visualisation on the blade of an operating wind turbine. Examination of the outboard 40% of the blade of a 10 m diameter wind turbine revealed stalled flow in wind speeds from 5m/s to 20m/s. The region of stall at those speeds increased from 5% to 40% of the coverage area of the tufts. This increase in the amount of stalled flow is expected for stall-regulated wind turbines. Overall, the results are very promising and demonstrate potential for a wide range of aerodynamics applications including real-time blade stall determination and classical wind tunnel aerodynamics studies.