A Novel Hybrid Approach for High-Efficiency and Low-Load Airfoil Design for H-Type Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

Abstract

To swiftly develop a high-efficiency airfoil suitable for vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs), this study designs a novel bionic airfoil (Dol-Ave airfoil) inspired by the streamlined profile of the Dall's porpoise's head. Unlike previous studies, this work introduces the concept of mean shape from geometric morphometrics, mitigating the potential randomness in aerodynamic optimization results caused by individual variations among porpoises. Furthermore, considering the challenges in aligning biologically-inspired designs with practical engineering requirements, optimization of the bionic airfoil is necessary. The combination of bio-inspired method and numerical optimization is referred to as the hybrid optimization method. The results of numerical simulations show: (1) When TSR = 0.5, compared to NACA 0018 airfoil, the power coefficient of the Dol-Ave airfoil increases by 52.66% . However, under the high TSR condition, no improvement in power coefficient is observed. (2) Compared to NACA 0018 airfoil, when TSR = 0.5, the power coefficient of the Dol-Ave opt airfoil increases by 30.01%; when TSR = 1.2, the increase is 8.16%. (3) Both the Dol-Ave airfoil and the Dol-Ave opt airfoil show improvements in lateral thrust load. The bio-inspired airfoil design method and the hybrid design approach proposed in this study offer valuable insights for airfoil design.

Keywords: VAWT, Optimization mathematical model, Bio-inspired airfoil design, Numerical optimization, Power coefficient, Lateral thrust load