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Experimental study of Reynolds number effects on performance of thick CAS wind turbine airfoils
In this study, the effects of Reynolds number on four thick CAS airfoils of two generations were studied at two different wind tunnels. The results show that in natural transition, increasing Re leads to a reduction of the maximum lift coefficient and stall angle of attack. Furthermore, the results show that increasing Re causes the separation point to move to the leading edge in thick CAS airfoils. This could be reflected by the influence of Re on the separation of the laminar boundary layer. Specifically, it is found that for thick airfoils, the large leading edge radius helps to maintain a laminar boundary layer near the frontal upper surface even at very high angles of attack, whereas the high slope of the rear part of suction surface triggers early separation at small angles of attack. Both of these contribute to a “negative” effect of Reynolds number. The study indicates that the positive effect of Reynolds number on thin airfoils is not suitable for thick airfoils, which is at least highly geometry-dependent. The study also suggests that it may be possible to design special airfoils with desirable Re effects to enhance the efficiency and safety of wind turbines under extreme conditions.
Experimental study of Reynolds number effects on performance of thick CAS wind turbine airfoils
In this study, the effects of Reynolds number on four thick CAS airfoils of two generations were studied at two different wind tunnels. The results show that in natural transition, increasing Re leads to a reduction of the maximum lift coefficient and stall angle of attack. Furthermore, the results show that increasing Re causes the separation point to move to the leading edge in thick CAS airfoils. This could be reflected by the influence of Re on the separation of the laminar boundary layer. Specifically, it is found that for thick airfoils, the large leading edge radius helps to maintain a laminar boundary layer near the frontal upper surface even at very high angles of attack, whereas the high slope of the rear part of suction surface triggers early separation at small angles of attack. Both of these contribute to a “negative” effect of Reynolds number. The study indicates that the positive effect of Reynolds number on thin airfoils is not suitable for thick airfoils, which is at least highly geometry-dependent. The study also suggests that it may be possible to design special airfoils with desirable Re effects to enhance the efficiency and safety of wind turbines under extreme conditions.
Experimental study of Reynolds number effects on performance of thick CAS wind turbine airfoils
Li, Xingxing (author) / Yang, Ke (author) / Zhang, Lei (author) / Bai, Jingyan (author)
2017-11-01
19 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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