Effect of protuberances on the aerodynamic performance of a wind turbine blade – a review

Figures & data

Figure 1. Representation of flow structures over an airfoil with leading edge protuberances (Zhao, Zhang, and Xu 2017).

Figure 2. A wind turbine blade with (a) single, (b) intermittent, and (c) continuous protuberances.

Table 1. Effect of protuberances on the stall inception phenomena.

S. No	Airfoil used	Configuration used	Reynolds Number	Stall angle		Reference
				Smooth blade	Blade with protuberances
1.	NACA0020 Full-span	Sinusoidal protuberances with amplitude decreasing along the spanwise direction	1.35 × 10^5 − 5.5 × 10^5	12.5°	17°	(Miklosovic et al. 2004)
2.	NACA 634021	1. 8S 2. 8M 3. 8L 4. 4S 5. 4M 6. 4L	1.83 × 10^5	20.9°	16.5° 14.7°-15.4° 13.4°-	(Johari et al. 2007)
3.	1. NACA 65–021 2. NACA 0021	A = 2, 4 and 8 mm λ = 7.5, 15, 30 and 60 mm	120,000	12°	13°	(Hansen, Kelso, and Dally 2011)
4.	NACA0020	A = 0–0.1c λ= 0.25c − 2c	800	-	-	(Favier, Pinelli, and Piomelli 2012)
5.	NACA0012	A = 0.1c λ= 0.397c	1.8 × 10^5	20°	25°	(Čarija et al. 2014)
6.	SD8000	A = 0.015c, 0.085c λ = 0.15c, 0.065c	1 × 10^5	14°	16°	(Huang et al. 2015)
7.	NACA0030	1. A = 0.03c, λ = 0.4c 2. A = 0.03c, λ = 0.11c 3. A = 0.11c, λ = 0.4c	50,000–2,90,000	26°	1. 16° 2. 24° 3. 21°	(de Paula et al. 2017)
8.	S1223	A = 0.1c, 0.08c, 0.04c λ = 0.25c, 0.5c	1.8 × 10^5	14°	10°	(Hendrickson and Agarwal 2020)

Zhao, M., M. Zhang, and J. Xu. 2017. Numerical simulation of flow characteristics behind the aerodynamic performances on an airfoil with leading edge protuberances. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics 11 (1):193–209. doi:10.1080/19942060.2016.1277165.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Miklosovic, D. S., M. M. Murray, L. E. Howle, and F. E. Fish. 2004. Leading-edge tubercles delay stall on humpback whale (megaptera novaeangliae) flippers. Physics of Fluids 16 (5):L39–L42. doi:10.1063/1.1688341.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Johari, H., C. Henoch, D. Custodio, and A. Levshin. 2007. Effects of leading-edge protuberances on airfoil performance. AIAA Journal 45 (11):2634–42. doi:10.2514/1.28497.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Hansen, K. L., R. M. Kelso, and B. B. Dally. 2011. Performance variations of leading-edge tubercles for distinct airfoil profiles. AIAA Journal 49 (1):185–94. doi:10.2514/1.J050631.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Favier, J., A. Pinelli, and U. Piomelli. 2012. Control of the separated flow around an airfoil using a wavy leading edge inspired by humpback whale flippers. Comptes Rendus - Mechanical 340 (1–2):107–14. doi:10.1016/j.crme.2011.11.004.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Čarija, Z., E. Marušić, Z. Novak, and S. Fućak. 2014. Numerical analysis of aerodynamic characteristics of a bumped leading edge turbine blade. Engineering Review 34 (2):93–101.

 Google Scholar

Huang, G. Y., Y. C. Shiah, C. J. Bai, and W. T. Chong. 2015. Experimental study of the protuberance effect on the blade performance of a small horizontal axis wind turbine. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 147:202–11. doi:10.1016/j.jweia.2015.10.005.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

de Paula, A. A., J. R. Meneghini, V. G. Kleine, and R. D. M. Girard, “The wavy leading edge performance for a very thick airfoil,” in AIAA SciTech Forum - 55th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 9 - 13 January 2017, Grapevine, Texas, pp. 1–27.

 Google Scholar

Hendrickson, K. and R. K. Agarwal, “Numerical investigation of leading-edge protuberances on high lift, high camber airfoils at low reynolds number,” in AIAA Aviation Forum, 15-19,June, 2020, VIirtual Event, pp. 1–19.

 Google Scholar