Abstract
Aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine at different tilt angles was studied based on the commercial CFD software STAR-CCM+. Tilt angles of 0, 4, 8 and 12° were investigated based on uniform wind speed and wind shear. In CFD simulation, the rotating motion of blade was based on a sliding mesh. The thrust, power, lift and drag of the blade section airfoil at different tilt angles have been widely investigated herein. Meanwhile, the tip vortices and velocity profiles at different tilt angles were physically observed. In addition, the influence of the wind shear exponents and the expected value of turbulence intensity on the aerodynamic performance of the wind turbine is also further discussed. The results indicate that the change in tilt angle changes the angle of attack of the airfoil section of the wind turbine blade, which affects the thrust and power of the wind turbine. The aerodynamic performance of the wind turbine is better when the tilt angle is about 4°. Wind shear will cause the thrust and power of the wind turbine to decrease, and the effect of the wind shear exponents on the aerodynamic performance of the wind turbine is significantly greater than the expected effect of the turbulence intensity. The main purpose of the paper was to study the effect of tilt angle on the aerodynamic performance of a fixed wind turbine.
Highlights
The use of wind energy has increased over the past few decades
Their findings show that changing the tilt angle can improve the aerodynamic performance of small-scale wind turbines
MW10reference wind turbine used for the used mesh independence
Summary
The use of wind energy has increased over the past few decades. Today, wind energy is the fastest growing renewable energy source in the world [1]. Studies have shown that the wind turbine tilt angle affects the shear force and bending moment at the tower top and the blade root [3], and the interaction between the blade and the tower affects the aerodynamic performance of the wind turbine [4]. Kim et al [4] studied the interaction between the blade and the tower using the nonlinear vortex correction method They concluded that as the yaw angle and wind shear exponent increase, the interaction between the blade and the tower decreases. Narayana et al [7] researched the gyroscopic effect of small-scale wind turbines Their findings show that changing the tilt angle can improve the aerodynamic performance of small-scale wind turbines. Through a comparison of aerodynamic performance of the wind turbine at different tilt angles, the effects of tilt angle on the thrust, power and wake of the wind turbine are studied
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