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Content archived on 2024-04-15

DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT OF THICK AEROFOILS FOR WIND TURBINES

Objective

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT IS TO DESIGN AND TEST NEW THICK AEROFOIL SECTIONS SUITABLE FOR USE IN STRUCTURALLY-CRITICAL AREAS OF A WIND TURBINE BLADE. DESIGN METHODS WERE TO BE ANALYTICAL.
Modern aerodynamics have been harnessed to develop fundamentally new aerofoil sections that have the potential to offer significant weight (and hence cost) savings when used as a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) blade.
The principal results are:
the development of an index for comparing the structural merits of different aerofoils;
the development of an aerofoil design method for viscous flows;
the design of a family of structurally efficient aerofoils using analytical methods;
the development of aerofoil test facilities;
the definition of the geometries and aerodynamic properties of a family of structurally efficient aerofoils.
The main conclusion is that on the basis of smooth aerofoil performance, a SSS-125 profile offers opportunities for 24% weight savings compared to an LS81-0421 model profile, with the same level of aerodynamic performance.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPED OR ACQUIRED DURING THE PROJECT INCLUDE :

1) A PROGRAMME TO CALCULATE AN EXTERNAL VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION CORRESPONDING TO SPECIFIED BOUNDARY LAYER PROPERTIES (INVERSE BOUNDARY LAYER PROGRAMME).

2) A PROGRAMME TO CALCULATE AN AEROFOIL SHAPE CORRESPONDING TO A SPECIFIED EXTERNAL VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION (DESIGN PROGRAMME).

3) A PROGRAMME TO CALCULATE PRESSURES AND FORCES ACTING ON AN AEROFOIL OF A GIVEN SHAPE (ANALYSIS PROGRAMME).

WITH THE AID OF THESE PROGRAMMES A FAMILY OF AEROFOILS WITH THICKNESS/CHORD RATIOS OF 21-29 % WERE DESIGNED.

SPANWISE-SEGMENTED MODELS OF THESE AEROFOILS HAVE BEEN BUILT AND TESTED IN A WIND TUNNEL AT A REYNOLDS NUMBER OF 2 X 10000000. DATA ARE CURRENTLY BEING ANALYSED WITH PUBLICATION ANTICIPATED SOMETIME DURING 1990. PROVISIONAL RESULTS FOR THE VERY THICK AEROFOILS (25 - 29 % THICKNESS/CHORD RATIOS) ARE ENCOURAGING.

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Topic(s)

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Call for proposal

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Funding Scheme

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CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
EU contribution
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Address
University Road, Highfield
SOUTHAMPTON
United Kingdom

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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

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