HAWT Efficiency Increase via Active Flow Control Implementation

Abstract

The present manuscript introduces a novel methodology which can be applied to any Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) in order to improve the power generated under any operating condition. The method consists of analyzing via 2D-URANS a considerable number of sections cut along the wind turbine blade in order to obtain the location where the boundary layer separates, its associated vortex shedding frequency and the peak to peak amplitude of the dynamics forces. The second step consists of implementing optimized active Flow Control (AFC) parameters to each section where the boundary layer is separated, in order to reattach it for the considered wind turbine operating conditions. The energy assessment proves that a considerable increase of net energy is obtained in each section where the boundary layer reattachment is achieved.

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