Performance predictions of VAWTs with NLF airfoil blades
- Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
The successful design of an efficient Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) can be obtained only when appropriate airfoil sections have been selected. Most VAWTs currently operating worldwide use blades of symmetrical NACA airfoil series. As these blades were designed for aviation applications, Sandia National Laboratories developed a family of airfoils specifically designed for VAWTs in order to decrease the Cost of Energy (COE) of the VAWT (Berg, 1990). Objectives formulated for the blade profile were: modest values of maximum lift coefficient, low drag at low angle of attack, high drag at high angle of attack, sharp stall, and low thickness-to-chord ratio. These features are similar to those of Natural Laminar Flow airfoils (NLF) and gave birth to the SNLA airfoil series. This technical brief illustrates the benefits and losses resulting from using NLF airfoils on VAWT blades. To achieve this goal, the streamtube model of Paraschivoiu (1988) is used to predict the performance of VAWTs equipped with blades of various airfoil shapes. The airfoil shapes considered are the conventional airfoils NACA 0018 and NACA 0021, and the SNLA 0018/50 airfoil designed at Sandia. Furthermore, the potential benefit of reducing the airfoil drag is clearly illustrated by the presentation of the individual contributions of lift and drag to power.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Federal Panel on Energy Research and Development, Ottawa, ON (Canada)
- OSTI ID:
- 488937
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. 119, Issue 1; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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