Small Wind Turbine Blade Design and Optimization

Abstract

This work aims at designing and optimizing the performance of a small Horizontal-Axis-Wind-Turbine to obtain a power coefficient (C P ) higher than 40% at a low wind speed of 5 m/s. Two symmetric in shape airfoils were used to get the final optimized airfoil. The main objective is to optimize the blade parameters that influence the design of the blade since the small turbines are prone to show low performance due to the low Reynolds number as a result of the small size of the rotor and the low wind speed. Therefore, the optimization process will select different airfoils and extract their performance at the design conditions to find the best sections which form the optimal design of the blade. The sections of the blade in the final version mainly consist of two different sections belong to S1210 and S1223 airfoils. The optimization process goes further by investigating the performance of the final design, and it employs the blade element momentum theory to enhance the design. Finally, the rotor-design was obtained, which consists of three blades with a diameter of 4 m, a hub of 20 cm radius, a tip-speed ratio of 6.5 and can obtain about 650 W with a Power coefficient of 0.445 at a wind-speed of 5.5 m/s, reaching a power of 1.18 kW and a power coefficient of 0.40 at a wind-speed of 7 m/s.

A Controller for Optimum Electrical Power Extraction from a Small Grid-Interconnected Wind Turbine

“…A more concise definition is provided in [39], where it is specified that small wind turbines only include wind turbines with a swept area by the rotor A < 200 m 2 , and powers between 1-15 kW for residential purposes or 15-100 kW for light commercial installations. On the other hand, Muhsen et al refers to small wind turbines as those with rated power of less than 50 kW [40]. In any case, it is generally agreed that small wind installations are convenient for isolated areas, which are difficult to connect to the main grid due to technical and/or economical limitations [41].…”

Influence of the Solidity Ratio on the Small Wind Turbine Aerodynamics

“…Despite its limitations associated with dependence on the quality of the 2D aerofoil data, it is extensively used by researchers for wind turbine blade preliminary design [1]. Muhsen et al [2] used the BEMbased Qblade algorithm to design and optimise the blades for a small wind turbine rotor. The aerofoils S1210 and S1223 were used to construct a three-bladed rotor of diameter equal to 4 m. At the wind speed of 7 m/s, the wind turbine was able to generate 1.18 kW, reaching the power coefficient equal to 0.40.…”

Research on Real Working Condition Simulation and Performance Test of Wind Power Main Bearing Based on Test Bench

“…With the consumption of energy, the deteriorating environmental problems, and the increasing demand for electricity, wind energy, as a renewable clean energy source, has received more and more attention due to its environmental protection, low cost, and other advantages. Wind power has become one of the most promising and economically beneficial energy sources [1][2][3][4][5]. In the past ten years, it had the largest demand and growth between all renewable energy sources [6].…”