Influence of trailing edge flap on wind turbine blade using three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics method

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of the trailing edge flap on integrated loads and the flow field structure of wind turbine blades. The dynamic trailing edge flap under sinusoidal wind velocity is simulated using three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics method, and SST k-ω turbulence model coupled with γ-Reθ transition model is adopted to model the turbulence. The results show that the variation of root flap bending moments can be reduced by up to 38%. A proper phase difference added to the flap deflection could improve the ability of loads reduction for some cases. The flap deflection impacts almost all sections of the blade, and the blade elements momentum method should be modified to obtain better results.