RESEARCH OF THE ROTATIONAL EFFECTS ON THE BOUNDARY LAYER OF WIND TURBINE BLADES

摘要

The flow field past the rotating blade of a ho rizontal axial wind turbine has been modeled with a full 3- D steady-RANS approach. Flow computations have been performed using the commercial finite– volume solver Fluent. The NREL phase VI wind turbine blade sections from the 3–D rotating geometry were chosen and the corresponding 2-D flow computations have been carried out for comparison with different angles of attack and in stalled conditions. The simulation results are analyzed. The main features of the boundary layer flow are described, for both the rotating blade and the corresponding 2–D profiles. Computed pressure distributions and aerodynamic coefficients show evidence of less lift losses after separation in the 3- D rotating case, mostly for the inward sections of the blade and the highest angles of attack, which is in agreement with the literature.