Design of advanced airfoil for stall-regulated wind turbines

The Science of Making Torque from Wind

Grasso, F.^1 ; Coiro, D.P.^2 ; Bizzarrini, N.^2 ; Calise, G.^2

Aerodynamix, Napoli

80128, Italy^1

Dip. Ingegneria Industriale, Università di Napoli Federicoll, Napoli

80123, Italy^2

关键词: Airfoil performance;    Design strategies;    Gradient based algorithm;    Machine control capability;    Numerical optimizations;    Rotor performance;    Stall-regulated;    Transition conditions;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/753/2/022008/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1742-6596/753/2/022008

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Nowadays, all the modern MW-class wind turbines make use of pitch control to optimize the rotor performance and control the turbine. However, for kW-range machines, stall-regulated solutions are still attractive and largely used for their simplicity and robustness. On the design phase, the aerodynamics plays a crucial role, especially concerning the selection/design of the necessary airfoils. This is because the airfoil performance should guarantee high wind turbine performance, but also the needed machine control capabilities. In the present work, the design of a new airfoil dedicated for stall machines is discussed. The design strategy makes use of numerical optimization scheme where a gradient-based algorithm is coupled with XFOIL code and an original Bezier-curves-based parameterization to describe the airfoil shape. The performances of the new airfoil are compared in free and fixed transition conditions. In addition, the performance of the rotor is analysed comparing the impact of the new geometry with alternative candidates. The results show that the new airfoil offers better performance and control than existing candidates do.