Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Hossein Seifi Davari ¹
• Harun Chowdhury ²
• Mohsen Seify Davari ³
• Hasan Hosseinzadeh ⁴

¹ Department of Mechanics, Marine Engineering, Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar, Iran

² School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia

³ Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Islamic Azad University, Germi, Iran

⁴ Department of Mathematics, Ardabil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardabil, Iran

Abstract

Initially, the optimal Thickness-to-Camber ratio (t/c) of the SG6043 airfoil was examined across Reynolds numbers (Re) ranging from 10,000 to 500,000, typical for Small Wind Turbines (SWTs) using QBLADE software. The ideal t/c increased between 0.5 and 1.50, surpassing the SG6043 airfoil in peak Lift-to-Drag ratio coefficient (CL/CD). Subsequently, three modified airfoils were developed within the t/c range of 0.5 to 1.5. Results demonstrated improved aerodynamic coefficients in the modified airfoils as Re increased. Notably, the Case 3 airfoil exhibited the highest maximum CL/CD of 176.97 at Re 500,000. Furthermore, Case 1 and Case 2 yielded maximum CL/CD values of 172.43 and 171.08, respectively. The airfoils in Cases 2, 1, and 3 achieved peak Lift Coefficients (CL) of 1.847, 1.82, and 1.77, respectively. Specifically, at Re except for 100,000, the Case 2 airfoil outperformed the other modified and SG6043 airfoils in terms of CL. At Re ≤100,000, the Case 1 airfoil demonstrated a higher maximum CL/CD compared to other modified and SG6043 airfoils. Across the Re range of 10,000 to 500,000, the Case 2 airfoil consistently achieved the highest peak CL/CD. This research was validated through experimental work and compared with the EYO-Series airfoils.

Keywords

• Airfoil
• Low Reynolds Numbers
• Aerodynamic
• QBLADE
• Optimization