TY - JOUR
T1 - Parametric slat design study for thick-base airfoils at high Reynolds numbers
AU - Steiner, Julia
AU - Viré, Axelle
AU - Benetti, Francesco
AU - Timmer, Nando
AU - Dwight, Richard
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Standard passive aerodynamic flow control devices such as vortex generators and gurney flaps have a working principle that is well understood. They increase the stall angle and the lift below stall and are mainly applied at the inboard part of wind turbine blades. However, the potential of applying a rigidly fixed leading-edge slat element at inboard blade stations is less well understood but has received some attention in the past decade. This solution may offer advantages not only under steady conditions but also under unsteady inflow conditions such as yaw. This article aims at further clarifying what an optimal two-element configuration with a thick main element would look like and what kind of performance characteristics can be expected from a purely aerodynamic point of view. To accomplish this an aerodynamic shape optimization procedure is used to derive optimal profile designs for different optimization boundary conditions including the optimization of both the slat and the main element. The performance of the optimized designs shows several positive characteristics compared to single-element airfoils, such as a high stall angle, high lift below stall, low roughness sensitivity, and higher aerodynamic efficiency. Furthermore, the results highlight the benefits of an integral design procedure, where both slat and main element are optimized, over an auxiliary one. Nevertheless, the designs also have two caveats, namely a steep drop in lift post-stall and high positive pitching moments.
AB - Standard passive aerodynamic flow control devices such as vortex generators and gurney flaps have a working principle that is well understood. They increase the stall angle and the lift below stall and are mainly applied at the inboard part of wind turbine blades. However, the potential of applying a rigidly fixed leading-edge slat element at inboard blade stations is less well understood but has received some attention in the past decade. This solution may offer advantages not only under steady conditions but also under unsteady inflow conditions such as yaw. This article aims at further clarifying what an optimal two-element configuration with a thick main element would look like and what kind of performance characteristics can be expected from a purely aerodynamic point of view. To accomplish this an aerodynamic shape optimization procedure is used to derive optimal profile designs for different optimization boundary conditions including the optimization of both the slat and the main element. The performance of the optimized designs shows several positive characteristics compared to single-element airfoils, such as a high stall angle, high lift below stall, low roughness sensitivity, and higher aerodynamic efficiency. Furthermore, the results highlight the benefits of an integral design procedure, where both slat and main element are optimized, over an auxiliary one. Nevertheless, the designs also have two caveats, namely a steep drop in lift post-stall and high positive pitching moments.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85093983503&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/wes-5-1075-2020
DO - 10.5194/wes-5-1075-2020
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85093983503
SN - 2366-7443
VL - 5
SP - 1075
EP - 1095
JO - Wind Energy Science
JF - Wind Energy Science
IS - 3
ER -