This paper presents detailed wind tunnel tests data taken on six airfoils having application to small wind turbines. In particular, lift, drag and moment measurements were taken at Reynolds numbers of 100,000, 200,000, 350,000 and 500,000 for both clean and rough conditions. In some cases, data were also taken at a Reynolds number of 150,000. The airfoils included the E387, FX 63-137, S822, S834, SD2030, and SH3055. Prior to carrying out the tests, wind tunnel flow quality measurements were taken to document the low Reynolds number test environment. Oil flow visualization data and performance data taken on the E387 compare favorably with measurements taken at NASA Langley in the Low Turbulence Pressure Tunnel. Highlights of the performance characteristics of the other five airfoils are presented.

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A design philosophy for low Reynolds number airfoils that judiciously combines the tailoring of the airfoil pressure distribution using a transition ramp with the use of boundary-layer trips is presented. Three airfoils with systematic changes to the shape of the transition ramp have been designed to study the effect of trips on the airfoil performance. The airfoils were wind-tunnel tested with various trip locations and at Reynolds numbers of 100,000 and 300,000 to assess the effectiveness of the design philosophy. The results show that the design philosophy was successfully used in integrating a boundary-layertrip from the outset in the airfoil design process. For the Reynolds numbers and the range of airfoil shapes considered, however, airfoils designed with trips do not hold any clear advantage over airfoils designed for good performance in the clean condition.