Abstract
In this study, we created an optimization design method for a rotor of propeller-type wind turbine that combined design of experiments, response surface method, and optimization method with the blade element momentum theory. This design method was applied to a small propeller-type wind turbine. We then examined the performance of an obtained rotor using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics analysis and a wind tunnel experiment and examined the relationship between local torque and pressure distribution on the blade surface to investigate the mechanism to improve power output. Our findings showed that the experimental value of power coefficient of optimized rotor designed with our design method was approximately 6.9% higher than that of an original rotor designed with the blade element momentum theory only. This was because the optimized rotor had similar pressure difference between the pressure surface and the suction surface to that of the original rotor as the separation at the leading edge side were decreased on the tip side, and because its local torque increased as the pressure difference increased due to a longer chord length. Thus, the effectiveness of our design method was demonstrated.
© 2023 Turbomachinery Society of Japan, Korean Fluid Machinery Association, Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics, IAHR
