Performance enhancement of a small-scale wind turbine featuring morphed trailing edge

Abstract

The constant increase in reliance on sustainable energy resources is driving the research community towards adopting innovative and efficient wind turbine systems. A trailing-edge segment featuring seamless, wavelike, and continuous deflected layout is presented and integrated into a small-scale wind turbine blade. The study aims to quantitatively assess the potential of a moderately morphed (bumped) trailing edge in enhancing the power output of the wind turbines mainly at low wind velocity operating conditions. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Phase-II wind turbine is selected to be the benchmark model for the current quantitative analysis. Three-dimensional transient computational fluid dynamic (CFD) numerical analysis is established at three operating wind velocities using Ansys Fluent solver. The computed results of the baseline rotor blade are validated using data taken from the NREL/NASA-Ames experimental report. The implementation of a morphed (bumped) trailing edge shows a significant contribution in promoting energy harvesting with just a few degrees of smooth and gradual deformation. Compared to the baseline model, up to 53% in additional power gain is obtained from the rotor blade with integrated morphed (bumped) trailing edge segment. Thus, the compromised aerodynamic performance of stall-controlled small-scale wind turbines can be greatly improved with the utilization of morphing-capable trailing edge systems.