Numerical study on aerodynamics of small scale horizontal axis wind turbine with Weibull analysis
V. Venkateswaran, Unai Fernández‐Gámiz, Koldo Portal-Porras, J. Blanco
Abstract
This paper presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and blade element momentum (BEM) analysis of horizontal small-scale wind turbines under various parameters. Random airfoils such as the NACA 0012, NACA 0018, NACA 4412, S1016, S1210, S1223, and SC20402 are chosen, and the glide ratio is analysed. A Reynolds number of 100,000 is considered because of the small wind turbine design. The foil with the highest glide ratio is selected. Various notations are used to represent the chord and the twist angle of the blade, and the blade with the best chord and twist angle is chosen. The lift, drag, and power coefficients and power curves are analysed via the BEM. The power curves are evaluated for different air densities, and a higher value of power is obtained. Finally, via CFD, the SST $$K-{\omega }$$ model for turbulence is analysed for various angles of attack via Ansys Fluent for different air densities. The results are satisfactory compared with those of the CFD and BEM analyses. The Weibull distribution is analysed to understand the required frequencies for various wind speeds so that the installation of wind turbines can be made convenient in preferred areas with suitable wind properties.