Effect of airfoil geometry on the aerodynamics and turbulent structures in the flow over wind-turbine balde section

• Grant number: 25/15463-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering - Aerodynamics
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Sampaio Souza
• Grantee: Henrique Barboza Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental São João da Boa Vista. São João da Boa Vista , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/13249-1 - Investigation of the rotational effect on the separate flow over sections of wind turbines: coherent structures and rotational augmentation, AP.R

Abstract

The impact of the airfoil geometry on the aerodynamics of rotating-wing sections is not fully understood. For example, some studies showed an increase of the drag associated to the rotation, while others observed a drag reduction due to rotation. The proposed investigation aims at studding, based on delayed-detached-eddy simulations, the rotational effects on the flow over airfoils with different geometries. Simulations with and without rotation will be carried out for two different airfoils designed for horizontal-axis wind turbines considering high angles of attack. Time-averaged flow properties related to the aerodynamic performance and to the turbulent flow field will be analyzed. Moreover, second-order statistics, including processing with the spectral proper orthogonal decomposition, will be computed in order to investigate the sensitiveness of the large-scale structures to the airfoil geometry. The results will provide valuable insights regarding the rotational effect on the flow field that may help developing guidelines for aerodynamical blade design. (AU)