Numerical Study of Effect of Blade Twist Modifications on the Aerodynamic Performance of Wind Turbine

*Wiroj Beabpimai  -  School of mechanical engineering, Institute of engineering, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhonratchasima 30000, Thailand, Thailand
Tawit Chitsomboon scopus  -  Suranaree University of Technology, School of Mechanical Engineering, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Thailand
Received: 29 Mar 2019; Revised: 17 Aug 2019; Accepted: 19 Aug 2019; Published: 27 Oct 2019; Available online: 30 Oct 2019.
Open Access Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Citation Format:
Cover Image
Abstract
This paper aims to investigate aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine blade with twist modifications using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The phenomenon of 3D stall-delay effect in relation to blade twist is the key feature to be investigated in order to improve efficiency of a wind turbine. The NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Phase VI wind turbine rotor was used for validation and as the baseline rotor. The baseline blade geometry was modified by increasing/decreasing the twist angles in the inboard, mid-board and outboard regions of the blade in the form of a symmetrical curve with maximum twist angle of 3°. The steady incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with the k-ω Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence closure model were used for the calculations at wind speeds ranging from 5-20 m/s. The computational results for the baseline Phase VI rotor were validated against experimental data and a good agreement was found. The computational results for the modified blades were compared against those of the baseline blade. It was found that increase of annual energy production of up to 5.1% could be achieved by this modification technique.  ©2019. CBIORE-IJRED. All rights reserved
Keywords: CFD; Wind turbine aerodynamics; Blade twist; efficiency of wind turbine
Funding: This research is supported by the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program of the Thailand Research Fund.

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Original Research Article
Language: EN
In Vol 8, No 3 (2019): October 2019
Statistics: 759 368
Related articles
Aerodynamic analysis of backward swept in HAWT rotor blades using CFD Fractional Order Sliding Mode Control of PMSG-Wind Turbine Exploiting Clean Energy Resource CFD Investigation of A New Elliptical-Bladed Multistage Savonius Rotors Comparative thermo-economic and advanced exergy performance assessment of wind energy for distributed generation in four sites in Nigeria Longitudinal wind speed time series generation to wind turbine controllers tuning Evaluation of the Wind Potential and Optimal Design of a Wind Farm in The Arzew Industrial Zone in Western Algeria
  1. Ahmadi MH, Ghazvini M, Sadeghzadeh M, et al. (2018) Solar power technology for electricity generation: a critical review. Energy Sci Eng. 6(5), 340‐361
  2. Ahmadi MH, Alhuyi Nazari M, Ghasempour R, Pourfayaz F, Rahimzadeh M, Ming T. (2018) A review on solar-assisted gas turbines. Energy Sci Eng. 6(6):658–74
  3. Ahmadi MH, Ramezanizadeh M, Nazari MA, Lorenzini G, Kumar R, Jilte R. (2018). Applications of nanofluids in geothermal: A review. Mathematical Modelling of Engineering Problems. 5(4), 281-5
  4. ANSYS FLUENT 12.1 (2009) User’s Guide, Fluent Inc
  5. ANSYS ICEM CFD 12.1 (2009) User Manual, Fluent Inc
  6. Chow, R. & van Dam, C.P. (2012) Computational investigations of blunt trailing-edge and twist modifications to the inboard region of the NREL 5 MW rotor. Wind Energy, 16, 445–458
  7. Duque, E.P.N., Burklund, M. D., & Johnson, W. (2003) Navier-stokes and comprehensive analysis performance predictions of the NREL phase VI experiment. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 125, 457-467
  8. Giguere, P. & Selig, M. (1999) Design of a tapered and twisted blade for the NREL combined experiment rotor. NREL/SR. 500-26173
  9. Guntur, S. (2013) A Detailed Study of the Rotational Augmentation and Dynamic Stall Phenomena for Wind Turbines. PhD thesis, DTU Vindenergi
  10. Hand, M.M., Simms, D.A., Fingersh, L.J., Jager, D.W., Cotrell, J.R., Schreck, S. & Larwood, S.M. (2001) Unsteady aerodynamics experiment phase VI: wind tunnel test configurations and available data campaigns. NREL/TP-500-29955
  11. Hansen, O.L., Sorensen, J.N., Voutsinas, S., Sorensen, N., & Madsen, H.Aa. (2006) State of the art in wind turbine aerodynamics and aeroelasticity. Prog. Aerosp. Sci. 42, 285–330
  12. Himmelskamp H. (1947) Profile investigations on a rotating airscrew. Reports and translations, MAP Völenrode: Göttingen, Germany
  13. Hsu, M.C., Akkerman, I., & Bazilevs, Y. (2013) Finite element simulation of wind turbine aerodynamics: validation study using NREL Phase VI experiment. Wind Energy, 17(3), 461–481
  14. Johansen, J., Sørensen, N. N., Michelsen, J. A., & Schreck, S. (2002) Detached-Eddy Simulation of Flow around the NREL Phase-VI Rotor. Wind Energy, Vol. 5, No. 2-3, 185-197
  15. Li, Y., Paik, K.J., Xing, T. & Carrica, P.M. (2012) Dynamic overset CFD simulations of wind turbine aerodynamics. Renewable Energy, 37,285–298
  16. Menter, F.R. Kuntz, M. & Langtry, R. (2003) Ten Years of Industrial Experience with the SST Turbulence Model. Heat and Mass Transfer, 4, 625–632
  17. Ramezanizadeh M, Nazari MA, Ahmadi MH, Lorenzini G, Kumar R, Jilte R. (2018). A review on the solar applications of thermosyphons. Mathematical Modelling of Engineering Problems. 5(4): 275-280
  18. Schreck, S., Robinson, M. (2002) Rotational augmentation of horizontal axis wind turbine blade aerodynamic response. Wind Energy, 5, 133–150
  19. Simms, D., Schreck, S., Hand, M., Fingersch, L.J. (2001) NREL Unsteady Aerodynamics Experiment in the NASA-Ames Wind Tunnel: A Comparison of Predictions to Measurements. Technical Report; National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): Golden, CO, USA
  20. Sørensen, N.N., Michelsen, J.A., & Schreck, S. (2002) Navier-Stokes Prediction of the NREL Phase VI Rotor in the NASA Ames 80 ft x 120 ft Wind Tunnel. Wind Energy, 5,151-169
  21. Thumthae, C., & Chitsomboon, T., (2007) Appropriate Domain Size for Numerical Simulation of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines. The 21 st Conference of Mechanical Engineering Network of Thailand, Chonburi
  22. Wood, DH. (1991). A three-dimensional analysis of stall-delay on a horizontal-axis wind turbine. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 37,1-14

Last update: 2021-03-09 00:34:10

  1. Numerical Analysis of Energy Converter for Wave Energy Power Generation-Pendulum System

    International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 9 (2), 2020. doi: 10.14710/ijred.9.2.255-261

  2. The Modeling of Cross Flow Runner With Computational Fluid Dynamics on Microhydro Tube

    E3S Web of Conferences, 127 , 2020. doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/202020208008

Last update: 2021-03-09 00:34:10

  1. Numerical Analysis of Energy Converter for Wave Energy Power Generation-Pendulum System

    International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 9 (2), 2020. doi: 10.14710/ijred.9.2.255-261

  2. The Modeling of Cross Flow Runner With Computational Fluid Dynamics on Microhydro Tube

    E3S Web of Conferences, 127 , 2020. doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/202020208008
Copyright (c) 2019
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Articles are freely available to both subscribers and the wider public with permitted reuse.

All articles published Open Access will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read and download. We are continuously working with our author communities to select the best choice of license options: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA). Authors and readers can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, as well as remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, but they must give appropriate credit (cite to the article or content), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.