Open AccessExperimental detection of laminar‐turbulent transition on a rotating wind turbine blade in the free atmosphere
Author(s) -
Schaffarczyk A. P.,
Schwab D.,
Breuer M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
wind energy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1099-1824
pISSN - 1095-4244
DOI - 10.1002/we.2001
Subject(s) - boundary layer , turbulence , turbine , suction , laminar flow , turbine blade , mechanics , atmosphere (unit) , computational fluid dynamics , aerospace engineering , wind tunnel , marine engineering , blade (archaeology) , meteorology , flow (mathematics) , mechanical engineering , environmental science , engineering , physics
This paper discusses the findings from a measurement campaign on a rotating wind turbine blade operating in the free atmosphere under realistic conditions. A total of 40 pressure sensors together with an array of 23 usable hot‐film sensors (based on constant temperature anemometry) were used to study the behavior of the boundary layer within a specific zone on the suction side of a 30 m diameter wind turbine at different operational states. A set of several hundreds of data sequences were recorded. Some of them show that under certain circumstances, the flow may be regarded as not fully turbulent. Accompanying Computational Fluid Mechanics (CFD) simulations suggest the view that a classical transition scenario according to the growth of so‐called Tollmien–Schlichting did not apply. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.