Vortex generators aligned with trailing edge features on wind turbine blade

摘要

A wind turbine blade (80, 82) having a spanwise series of vortex generators (26, 28, 26P, 28P, 64, 66) and having a trailing edge (42) defining a waveform. The vortex generators are aligned with a predetermined position or phase (44, 46) of a respective period of the trailing edge waveform. Each vortex generator may be designed to create a vortex (27, 29) that crosses the trailing edge at an angle of less than 30 degrees from parallel to the trailing edge. The blade may include alternating ridges (52) and troughs (54) that end at the waveform trailing edge. A front end of each trough may form a V-shaped drop-off in the suction side of the blade that forms a pair (64, 66) of vortex generators to create counter-rotating vortices within the trough that entrain energy to the bottom of the trough.