In this article, a two-dimensional,
incompressible flow around a NACA 63-415 airfoil, which is widely used as one
of the commercial wind turbine blade profiles, is investigated. The goal of
this research is to obtain the optimum angle of attack for this particular type
of airfoil within a precise range. The Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)
technique of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been employed to examine
the flow where the Reynolds number is in the range of 105 to 3x106 and also for the angles of attack from 0° to 20°. These are the typical
flow conditions mostly encountered in the real applications of wind turbine
blades. The turbulent flow is modelled by means of the Spalart-Allmaras
turbulence model since its capability of simulating aerodynamic flows. The
ratio of the lift force to the drag force acting on the airfoil has been chosen
as a control parameter since the lift force increases the power generated by
the turbine, whereas the drag force negatively affects the performance. The
present numerical result shows that the maximum lift to drag ratio is observed
between 2.5° and 3.5°, depending on the Reynolds number.
Primary Language | English |
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Subjects | Engineering |
Journal Section | Research Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | April 1, 2020 |
Submission Date | November 7, 2019 |
Acceptance Date | December 28, 2019 |
Published in Issue | Year 2020 |