Separated Flow Control of Small Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine Blades Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuators

The flow control over the blades of a small horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) model using a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator (DBD-PA) was studied based on large-eddy simulations. The numerical simulations were performed with a high-resolution computational method, and the effects of the DBD-PA on the flow fields around the blades were modeled as a spatial body force distribution. The DBD-PA was installed at the leading edge of the blades, and its impacts on the flow fields and axial torque generation were discussed. The increase in the ratios of the computed, cycle-averaged axial torque reasonably agreed with that of the available experimental data. In addition, the computed results presented a maximum of 19% increase in the cycle-averaged axial torque generation by modulating the operating parameters of the DBD-PA because of the suppression of the leading edge separation when the blade’s effective angles of attack were relatively high. Thus, the suppression of the leading edge separation by flow control can lead to a delay in the breakdown of the tip vortex as a secondary effect.