Numerical Simulation And Aerodynamic Performance Comparison Between Seagull Aerofoil and NACA 4412 Aerofoil under Low-Reynolds

Abstract

For the aerofoil of small wind turbine working under the conditions of low-Reynolds, the aerodynamic performance of seagull aerofoil and NACA 4412 is contrastively analyzed while the Reynolds-Number is 、 and by the Fluent. The numerical simulation comparison shows that, when the attack-angle range is 0°~20°, the life-coefficient of seagull aerofoil increased 24.97%、46.02% and 48.54% than NACA 4412 respectively; when the attack angle is 4°, the lift-drag ratio of seagull aerofoil increased 40.44%、43.14%和39.40% than NACA 4412 respectively. Under the condition of Reynolds-Number is , the normal working range of attack angle of seagull aerofoil increased 16.7% than NACA 4412 .Under the same simulation condition, the separation point of NACA4412 aerofoil is closer to the leading-edge than seagull aerofoil . The analysis shows that the unique distribution of the thickness and the camber of the seagull aerofoil is the main reason of the better aerodynamic characteristics under the Low-Reynolds.Keywords: Low-Reynolds; wind turbine; aerofoil; numerical simulation; aerodynamic characteristics