Title: Effects of airfoil thickness on the aerodynamic efficiency of a small-scale wind turbine blade

Authors: Silverio Vazquez; Hoe-Gil Lee; William Flores

Addresses: Department of Mechanical, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Tarleton State University, Stephenville TX 76402, USA ' Department of Mechanical, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Tarleton State University, Stephenville TX 76402, USA ' Department of Mechanical, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Tarleton State University, Stephenville TX 76402, USA

Abstract: The airfoil thickness is investigated on its effects in efficiency and structural characteristics in a wind turbine blade. Eight single-airfoil blades are constructed based on a fixed-speed fixed-pitch design and their corresponding optimum design to accurately describe the airfoil thickness effects on the overall geometry of the blade. Based on a linear profile, the geometry of the blade is optimised with the use of the blade element momentum theory. By also obtaining the performance of the blade, this study reveals the airfoil aerodynamic characteristics in which a thinner airfoil reaches a glide ratio that is greater than its thicker counter parts, however, an unstable stall is also encountered with a thinner airfoil ultimately reducing the blade's overall efficiency. A nonlinear static simulation is conducted on the blades based on extreme wind conditions revealing an increase in deflection and stress on the blades as the airfoil thickness decreases.

Keywords: blade design; optimisation; wind turbine; airfoil thickness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRET.2023.132979

International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology, 2023 Vol.14 No.3, pp.278 - 301

Received: 30 Apr 2022
Accepted: 23 Aug 2022
Published online: 22 Aug 2023 *

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