Plasma flow control simulation of an airfoil of wind turbine at an intermediate reynolds number

The flow over a National Renewable Energy Laboratory S825 airfoil was simulated for a chord Reynolds number of 7.5×10⁵ and an angle of attack of 22.1 deg. These conditions approximately matched a blade element condition of 75% radius of 42-m-diameter wind turbine operating 2.5 rpm under a free-stream of 10 m/s. Computed flow of the uncontrolled case characterized massive separation from near the leading edge due to high angle of attack. With the active flow control by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator, separation was reduced and the lift-to-drag ratio increased from 2.25 to 6.52. Impacts of the plasma actuator on the shear layer near the leading edge were discussed. Direct momentum addition provided by the case setup of plasma actuator considered in current study seemed to be a dominant factor to prevent the separation of shear layer near the leading edge rather than influence of small disturbances induced by the plasma actuator operated in a burst modulation. However, due to the high angle of attack and the thick airfoil, the control authority of the plasma actuator with the setup (i.e. the operating condition and number of plasma actuators installed on the wing surface) considered was insufficient to completely suppress the separation over the NREL S825 airfoil.