Status of the special-purpose airfoil families

Conference · Tue Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5748776

Tangler, J L; Somers, D M

This work is directed at developing thin and thick airfoil families, for rotors with diameters of 10 to 30 m, that enhance energy output at low to medium wind speeds and provide more consistent operating characteristics with lower fatigue loads at high wind speeds. Performance is enhanced through the use of laminar flow, while more consistent rotor operating characteristics at high wind speeds are achieved by tailoring the airfoil such that the maximum lift coefficient C/sub 1,max/ is largely independent of roughness effects. Using the Eppler airfoil design code, two thin and one thick airfoil family were designed; each family has a root, outboard, and tip airfoil. Two-dimensional wind-tunnel tests were conducted to verify the predicted performance characteristics for both a thin and thick outboard airfoil from these families. Atmospheric tests on full-scale wind turbines will complete the verification process. 3 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Solar Energy Research Inst., Golden, CO (USA); Airfoils, Inc., Hampton, VA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-83CH10093
• OSTI ID: 5748776
• Report Number(s): SERI/TP-217-3264; CONF-871062-9; ON: DE88001124
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

17 WIND ENERGY
170602* -- Wind Energy Engineering-- Turbine Design & Operation
AIRFOILS
DATA
DESIGN
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
INFORMATION
MACHINERY
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUMERICAL DATA
PERFORMANCE TESTING
TESTING
THEORETICAL DATA
TUNNELS
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
WIND TUNNELS
WIND TURBINES