Bionic coupling design and aerodynamic analysis of horizontal axis wind turbine blades

Abstract With millions of years of evolution, owls have developed many excellent characteristics in terms of their flight. The speed of an owl in flight is similar to the relative speed of the blade of a small wind turbine with respect to air. Therefore, the owl wing airfoil is selected as the design airfoil of the wind turbine blade to reduce the flow separation under low Reynolds number. In this study, we analyze an owl wing‐section airfoil and the non‐smooth leading‐edge shape of an owl's wing, and implement an orthogonal optimum design to optimize the wavelength and amplitude of the non‐smooth leading edge. We extract the cross‐sectional features of the airfoil and the non‐smooth leading‐edge shape of the wing. Based on the orthogonal optimum design results, we determine the optimal combination of the wavelength, amplitude, and airfoil, and then design a horizontal‐axis wind turbine blade through bionic coupling. The flow field at different tip speed ratios (TSRs) is simulated using the k‐ωSST turbulence model at the rated wind speed. The results show that the power coefficient (CP) of the bionic wind turbine at a high tip speed ratio is 17.7% higher than that of the standard type. Furthermore, we analyze the operation of the turbine at TSRs of 2 and 5. At a high TSR, the leading edge bulge of the bionic wind turbine blade can change the flow direction distribution of the airflow on the blade surface, make the airflow to adhere to the suction surface, and then reduce the stall area on the suction surface of the blade. Thus, the wind turbine produces higher torque, thereby generating higher power.