In this work, a new approach for aerodynamic optimization of horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) airfoil is presented. This technique combines commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes with differential evolution (DE), a reliable gradient-free global optimization method. During the optimization process, commercial CFD codes are used to evaluate aerodynamic characteristics of HAWT airfoil and an improved DE algorithm is utilized to find the optimal airfoil design. The objective of this research is to maximize the aerodynamic coefficients of HAWT airfoil at the design angle of attack (AOA) with specific ambient environment. The airfoil shape is modeled by control points which their coordinates are design variables. The reliability of CFD codes is validated by comparing the analytical results of a typical HAWT airfoil with its experimental data. Finally, the optimal design of wind turbine airfoil is evaluated about aerodynamic performance in comparison with existing airfoils and some discussions are performed.
