Aerodynamic simulations of wind turbine blade sections with optimized boundary layer suction flow control

Date

2023-7

Author

Adam, Ali Ata

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Increasing wind turbine rotor diameters to harvest electricity as much as possible causes problems reducing the aerodynamic efficiency of the turbine. Flow control strategies, such as boundary layer suction (BLS), offer promising solutions for this problem. BLS removes low-energy flow within the boundary layer, significantly enhancing blade section aerodynamics. This study investigates the impact of BLS on wind turbine blade sections, specifically at the root and tip sections, using the CFD solver SU2. The CFD methodology is validated with multiple experimental test cases, followed by a mesh independence study. Design of Experiments methodology and an optimization framework are then employed. 2D CFD simulations are conducted on the blade sections of the DTU 10-MW Reference Wind Turbine. Response surfaces are generated to analyze the correlation between flow control parameters and airfoil performance. Airfoil polars with flow control are integrated into a Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory code to assess the impact on wind turbine power generation under different conditions. Results demonstrate that BLS significantly improves aerodynamic efficiency and mitigates flow separation, leading to weaker trailing-edge vortices. Correlation analysis reveals strong relationships between BLS variables and airfoil-scale performance, although variations exist among different airfoils and angles of attack. Optimization results show substantial enhancements in the lift coefficient and lift-to-drag ratio. Lastly, BEM analyses with airfoil polars incorporating BLS uncover the net increase in the contribution of the blade elements to the rotor power generation and predict annual energy production gains of more than 3% with BLS flow control.

Subject Keywords

Wind turbine, Boundary layer suction flow control, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Design of Experiment (DoE), Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/104747

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis