Improved Design for Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Blades with Winglets

Abstract

The horizontal axis wind turbine blades are modified to enhance the turbine's aerodynamic performance. The performance of the modified geometry was evaluated by comparing the lift, drag and torque findings to the same propeller with a straight leading edge. The symmetrical airfoil of NACA 0012 was chosen for the turbine blade profiles. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was performed using the shear stress transport (SST ) k-ω turbulence model to capture the vortical structures for the inlet wind speed of 20 m/s. From the simulation results, it has been shown that the four blades with winglets at 15° angle of attack (AoA) orientation turbine have demonstrated the highest aerodynamic performance. It produces the lowest aerodynamic drag and the most increased torque for turbine rotations, which, in return, carries many economic advantages such as energy savings, low impact on the environment, reduced maintenance requirements, and less noise.

Keywords

• aerodynamics
• cfd
• drag
• horizontal axis wind turbine
• lift
• winglets