Wind Turbine Airfoil Optimization With the Use of Riblet Technology

As the demand for clean energy continues to grow, wind power remains a key technology in mitigating climate change. This study investigates how the application of riblet structures on wind turbine blades enables the use of thicker airfoils without compromising aerodynamic efficiency. Thicker airfoils inherently offer structural advantages, allowing for lighter or longer blades due to increased bending stiffness. By mitigating the negative aerodynamic effects typically associated with increased thickness, riblets open the possibility of designing blades with larger radii. To quantify this potential, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and structural analyses were performed, identifying optimal design parameters for maximizing combined aerodynamic and structural performance. The analysis established that riblets compensate for the aerodynamic penalty, allowing a 12% thicker airfoil to maintain baseline performance. Translating this to a full-scale 3D blade geometry, the resulting structural stiffness facilitated a significant increase in rotor radius, although structural safety constraints required a correction of the initial scaling hypothesis. The final, structurally compliant designs yielded substantial net increases in energy output: a 10% thickness increment enabled a 9% increase in rotor radius, resulting in a 15% net increase in energy output. The maximum structural increase achieved was a 15% thickness increment, resulting in a 15% increase in rotor radius and a 21% net energy output increase. This robust structural performance allows the integration of thicker airfoils, which, while potentially non-optimal for certain wind conditions without modification, become aerodynamically viable through the use of riblets, thereby opening a novel methodology for wind turbine design