Abstract
Microtabs (MT) consist of a small tab placed on the airfoil surface close to the trailing edge and perpendicular to the surface. A study to find the optimal position to improve airfoil aerodynamic performance is presented. Therefore, a parametric study of a MT mounted on the pressure surface of an airfoil has been carried out. The aim of the current study is to find the optimal MT size and location to increase airfoil aerodynamic performance and to investigate its influence on the power output of a 5 MW wind turbine. Firstly, a computational study of a MT mounted on the pressure surface of the airfoil DU91W(2)250 has been carried out and the best case has been found according to the largest lift-to-drag ratio. This airfoil has been selected because it is typically used on wind turbine, such as the 5 MW reference wind turbine of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Second, Blade Element Momentum (BEM) based computations have been performed to investigate the effect of the MT on the wind turbine power output with different wind speed realizations. The results show that, due to the implementation of MTs, a considerable increase in the turbine average power is achieved.
Highlights
In the field of energy production, wind energy is a key issue in order to reduce fossil fuel dependency
In order to investigate the influence of MTs on the power of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5 MW reference wind turbine, Blade Element Momentum (BEM) computations have been carried out following the steps explained in the previous section
The MT design attributes resulting from the simulations have allowed the sizing and positioning of the passive device based on aerodynamic performance
Summary
In the field of energy production, wind energy is a key issue in order to reduce fossil fuel dependency. The solar–wind hybrid energy system has become very popular (Bouzelata et al [1]). Wind energy is an essential resource among the other clean energy production methods. The search for an energy power policy that is local, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, and optimizes resources has become a requirement. Models that include factors such as emissions reduction, minimization of imported energy, and even social acceptance are proposed in many studies, such as Novosel et al [2] and Kumu et al [3]. Research, has been focused on wind turbine blade improvements to optimize rotor dynamic behavior (Jaume et al [4] and Vaz et al [5])
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