A Low-Reynolds-Number, High-Angle-of-Attack Investigation of Wind Turbine Aerofoils

This article describes an experimental, aerodynamic investigation of four aerofoils intended for small wind turbine applications. The aerofoils of these small machines (both horizontal and vertical axes) normally experience conditions that are quite different from large-scale machines due to smaller chord length and lower wind speed, resulting in significantly lower Reynolds numbers. They also operate with an unusually wide range of incidence angles (0° to 90° for horizontal axis and 0° to 360° for vertical axis). Four appropriate aerofoils were chosen for testing at three Reynolds numbers (65000, 90000, and 150000) through 360° incidence to cover almost all possible conditions that might be encountered by both types of turbines…