Aerodynamic Performance Analysis of Corrugated Dragonfly-Wing Airfoil for Small Wind Turbine Blade Application

Christopher T. Naval Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City
Roque R. Luzon Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City
Yownin Albert M. Leung Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City
Jonathan C. Maglasang Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City

Abstract

A biomimetic design was investigated to enhance the performance of small horizontal -axis wind turbine. The aerodynamic performance of a corrugated dragonfly-wing airfoil was evaluated using wind tunnel experimentations and CFD simulations. At Reynolds number of 40000 to 370000, the corrugated dragonfly-wing blade had the highest lift coefficient and lift-to-drag ratio among the airfoils tested. It was evident that at high angles of attack, the corrugated dragonfly-wing blade exhibited the best aerodynamic performance because of its unique capability of delaying the onset of flow separation due to the effects of corrugation. A better wind turbine design was achieved because of the high lift generated and the added structural integrity to the rotor blades provided by the corrugated configurations of the dragonfly-wing airfoil.

Keywords: Dragonfly-wing, Wind turbine, Wind tunnel experimentation, Computational Fluid Dynamics

Published

2021-08-18

Issue

Vol 30 No 2 (2009)

Section

Articles