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Najiba Akther, UBC: Computational Evaluation of Leading-Edge Droop for Performance Enhancement of Wind Turbine Rotor in Delayed Transition Phase
We present a solution to leading-edge erosion based on drooped attachments bonded to sub-MW turbine blades that also yields notable aerodynamic improvements. BEM analysis and 2D RANS simulations suggest that the performance enhancement originates in a delayed transition process on the blade suction surface at the intermediate Reynolds numbers that characterize sub-MW turbines. This paper details how the drooped attachments improve predicted performance of several sub-MW turbines as well as a 5 MW and 10 MW turbine. We also present a detailed investigation of the transition process in a series high-fidelity 3D large eddy simulation (LES) to verify the physical basis of the aerodynamic benefits of the drooped attachments at Reynolds numbers characteristic of sub-MW turbines.