Vortex generators aligned with trailing edge features on wind turbine blade

摘要

A wind turbine blade (80, 82) having a spanwise series of vortex generators (26, 28, 26P, 28P, 64, 66) and having a trailing edge (42) defining a waveform. The vortex generators are aligned with a predetermined position or phase (44, 46) of a respective period of the trailing edge waveform. Each vortex generator may be designed to create a vortex (27, 29) that crosses the trailing edge at an angle of less than 30 degrees from parallel to the trailing edge. The blade may include alternating ridges (52) and troughs (54) that end at the waveform trailing edge. A front end of each trough may form a V-shaped drop-off in the suction side of the blade that forms a pair (64, 66) of vortex generators to create counter-rotating vortices within the trough that entrain energy to the bottom of the trough.

主权项

1. A wind turbine blade comprising
a predetermined alignment of vortex generating features with trailing edge features relative to an airflow path, the trailing edge features comprise a trailing edge and a series of chordwise suction side troughs displaying a waveform profile as viewed from behind the trailing edge, the vortex generating features comprise, on a suction side of the blade and upstream from the trailing edge, a spanwise sequence of pairs of first and second vortex generators designed to produce respective first and second respectively counter-rotating vortices that crosses the trailing edge, wherein each of the first vortex generators is aligned chordwise with a common first phase of the waveform profile, and wherein each of the second vortex generators vortex is aligned chordwise with a common second phase of the waveform profile.