High Efficiency Wind Turbine Using Co-Flow Jet Active Flow Control

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kewei Xu ◽  
Gecheng Zha

Abstract This paper applies Co-flow Jet (CFJ) active flow control airfoil to a NREL horizontal axis wind turbine for power output improvement. CFJ is a zero-net-mass-flux active flow control method that dramatically increases airfoil lift coefficient and suppresses flow separation at a low energy expenditure. The 3D Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with one-equation Spalart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model are solved to simulate the 3D flows of the wind turbines. The baseline wind turbine is the NREL 10.06m diameter phase VI wind turbine and is modified to a CFJ blade by implementing CFJ along the span. The baseline wind turbine performance is validated with the experiment at three wind speeds, 7m/s, 15m/s, and 25m/s. The predicted blade surface pressure distributions and power output agree well with the experimental measurements. The study indicates that the CFJ can enhance the power output at the condition where angle of attack is increased to the level that conventional wind turbine is stalled. At the speed of 7m/s that the NREL turbine is designed to achieve the optimum efficiency at the pitch angle of 3°, the CFJ turbine does not increase the power output. When the pitch angle is reduced by 13° to −10°, the baseline wind turbine is stalled and generates negative power output at 7m/s. But the CFJ wind turbine increases the power output by 12.3% assuming CFJ fan efficiency of 80% at the same wind speed. This is an effective method to extract more power from the wind at all speeds. It is particularly useful at low speeds to decrease cut-in speed and increase power output without exceeding the structure limit. At the freestream velocity of 15m/s and the CFJ momentum coefficient Cμ of 0.23, the net power output is increased by 207.7% assuming the CFJ fan efficiency of 80%, compared to the baseline wind turbine due to the removal of flow separation. The CFJ wind turbine appears to open a door to a new area of wind turbine efficiency improvement and adaptive control for optimal loading.

2020 ◽  
pp. 0309524X2096139
Author(s):  
Fangrui Shi ◽  
Yingqiao Xu ◽  
Xiaojing Sun

In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical simulation of the aerodynamic performance of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) whose blades are equipped with a new active flow control concept called Co-Flowing Jet (CFJ) is carried out. Numerical results show that the use of CFJ over the blade suction surface can effectively delay flow separation, thus improving the net torque and power output of HAWT. Besides, this increment in the net power produced by the turbine is considerably higher than the power consumed by the CFJ. Thus, the overall efficiency of the HAWT can be greatly increased. Furthermore, influences of different CFJ operating parameters including location of injection port, jet momentum coefficient and slot length on the performance enhancement of a HAWT are also systematically studied and the optimal combination of these parameters to obtain the best possible turbine efficiency throughout a range of different wind speeds has been identified.


Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (13) ◽  
pp. 794
Author(s):  
Cécile Ghouila-Houri ◽  
Célestin Ott ◽  
Romain Viard ◽  
Quentin Gallas ◽  
Eric Garnier ◽  
...  

This paper reports a calorimetric micro-sensor designed for aerodynamic applications. Measuring both the amplitude and the sign of the wall shear stress at small length-scale and high frequencies, the micro-sensor is particularly suited for flow separation detection and flow control. The micro-sensor was calibrated in static and dynamic in a turbulent boundary layer wind tunnel. Several micro-sensors were embedded in various configurations for measuring the shear stress and detecting flow separation. Specially, one was embedded inside an actuator slot for in situ measurements and twelve, associated with miniaturized electronics, were implemented on a flap model for active flow control experiments.


Author(s):  
Marcel Staats ◽  
Wolfgang Nitsche

We present results of experiments on a periodically unsteady compressor stator flow of the type which would be expected in consequence of pulsed combustion. A Reynolds number of Re = 600000 was used for the investigations. The experiments were conducted on the two-dimensional low-speed compressor testing facility in Berlin. A choking device downstream the trailing edges induced a periodic non-steady outflow condition to each stator vane which simulated the impact of a pressure gaining combuster downstream from the last stator. The Strouhal number of the periodic disturbance was Sr = 0.03 w.r.t. the stator chord length. Due to the periodic non-steady outflow condition, the flow-field suffers from periodic flow separation phenomena, which were managed by means of active flow control. In our case, active control of the corner separation was applied using fluidic actuators based on the principle of fluidic amplification. The flow separation on the centre region of the stator blade was suppressed by means of a fluidic blade actuator leading to an overall time-averaged loss reduction of 11.5%, increasing the static pressure recovery by 6.8% while operating in the non-steady regime. Pressure measurements on the stator blade and the wake as well as PIV data proved the beneficial effect of the active flow control application to the flow field and the improvement of the compressor characteristics. The actuation efficiency was evaluated by two figures of merit introduced in this contribution.


Author(s):  
Subhadeep Gan ◽  
Urmila Ghia ◽  
Karman Ghia

Most practical flows in engineering applications are turbulent, and exhibit separation. Losses due to separation are undesirable because they generally have adverse effects on performance and efficiency. Therefore, control of turbulent separated flows has been a topic of significant interest as it can reduce separation losses. It is of utmost importance to understand the complex flow dynamics that leads to flow separation and come up with methods of flow control. In the past, passive flow-control was mostly implemented that does not require any additional energy source to reduce separation losses but it leads to increasing viscous losses at higher Reynolds number. More recent work has been focused primarily on active flow-control techniques that can be turned on and off depending on the requirement of flow-control. The present work is focused on implementing flow control using steady suction in the region of flow separation. The present work is Case 3 of the 2004 CFD Validation on Synthetic Jets and Turbulent Separation Control Workshop, http://cfdval2004.larc.nasa.gov/case3.html, conducted by NASA for the flow over a wall-mounted hump. The flow over a hump is an example of a turbulent separated flow. This flow is characterized by a simple geometry, but, nevertheless, is rich in many complex flow phenomena such as shear layer instability, separation, reattachment, and vortex interactions. The baseline case has been successfully simulated by Gan et al., 2007. The flow is simulated at a Reynolds number of 371,600, based on the hump chord length, C, and Mach number of 0.04. The flow control is being achieved via a slot at approximately 65% C by using steady suction. Solutions are presented for the three-dimensional RANS SST, steady and unsteady, turbulence model and DES and LES turbulence modeling approaches. Multiple turbulence modeling approaches help to ascertain what techniques are most appropriate for capturing the physics of this complex separated flow. Second-order accurate time derivatives are used for all implicit unsteady simulation cases. Mean-velocity contours and turbulent kinetic energy contours are examined at different streamwise locations. Detailed comparisons are made of mean and turbulence statistics such as the pressure coefficient, skinfriction coefficient, and Reynolds stress profiles, with experimental results. The location of the reattachment behind the hump is compared with experimental results. The successful control of this turbulent separated flow causes a reduction in the reattachment length, compared with the uncontrolled case. The effects of steady suction on flow separation and reattachment are discussed.


Wind Energy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 909-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Wolf ◽  
Thorsten Lutz ◽  
Werner Würz ◽  
Ewald Krämer ◽  
Oksana Stalnov ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (04) ◽  
pp. 51-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Pechlivanoglou ◽  
C.N. Nayeri ◽  
C.O. Paschereit

This article describes the performance optimization of wind turbine rotors with active flow control. The active Gurney flap concept was tested in the wind tunnel under dynamic AoA variations to simulate unsteady inflow conditions. A high-deflection micro flap was actuated by four digital electric servos with a maximum deflection rate of 360°/sec. A custom code was created to allow dynamic AoA variations of the test wing with simultaneous dynamic force measurements. During the dynamic investigations, various control strategies were tested, starting from standard PID controllers with semi-empirical parameter tuning models to Direct Inverse Controllers with neural network tuning strategies and pure self-learning neural network controllers. The results of the closed-loop measurements using the manually tuned PID controller showed a reduction potential for the dynamic lift loads in the range of 70% as well as a stable controller behavior. The Direct Inverse Controller not only showed a load reduction of 36.8%, but also significant improvement potential with respect to its fine-tuning.


2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (08) ◽  
pp. 55-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Pechlivanoglou ◽  
C.N. Nayeri ◽  
C.O. Paschereit

This article discusses the performance optimization of wind turbine rotors with active flow control. An extensive multi-parameter investigation with a thorough matrix-grading system was performed to identify the most suitable solution for industrial quality, short/mid-term implementation on actual utility scale wind turbines. A very wide selection of aerodynamic flow control solutions was analyzed based on extensive multi-disciplinary literature review and through aerodynamic and aeroelastic simulations. It is suggested that the trailing edge devices have the most favorable performance in the field of system integration and mechanical design performance. Compliant structures like the flexible flap keep the number of moving parts to a minimum while maintaining high performance and manufacturing simplicity. The use of flexible and elastic materials based on polymers or rubber material improves the lightning strike resistance of these solutions and allows for low-cost large-scale production. The actuator principle, sensitivity, and reliability are decisive parameters, and pneumatic actuators seem to strike a good balance between performance, cost, and reliability.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-Sik Youn ◽  
Youn-Jea Kim

Abstract Demands of a modern aircraft regarding its aerodynamic performance and high efficiency are ever-growing. An S-shaped inlet, as known as a serpentine duct, plays a significant role in increasing fuel efficiency. Recently, the serpentine duct is commonly employed for military aircraft to block the front of the jet engine from radar. However, delivering a non-uniformly distorted flow to the engine face (aerodynamic interface plane, AIP) though a serpentine duct is inevitable due to the existence of flow separation and swirl flow in the duct. The effect of distortion is to cause the engine compressor to surge; thus, it may impact on the life-cycle of aircraft engine. In this study, aerodynamic characteristics of a serpentine duct mounted on a blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft was thoroughly investigated to determine where and how the vortex flow was generated. In particular, both passive and active flow control were implemented at a place where the flow separation was occurred to minimize the flow distortion rate in the duct. The passive and active flow control systems were used with vortex generator (VG) vanes and air suctions, respectively. A pair of VG s have been made as a set, and 6 sets of VG in the serpentine duct. For the active flow control, 19 air suctions have been implemented. Both flow control devices have been placed in three different locations. To evaluate the performance of flow control system, it is necessary to quantify the flow uniformity at the AIP. Therefore, coefficient of distortion, DC(60) was used as the quantitative measure of distortion. Also, change in DC(60) value while the BWB aircraft is maneuvering phase was analyzed.


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