Home > Published Issues > 2019 > Volume 8, No. 3, May 2019 >

CFD Analysis for the Performance of Gurney Flap on Aerofoil and Vertical Axis Turbine

Yan Yan 1, Eldad Avital 1, John Williams 1 and Theodosios Korakianitis 2
1. School of Engineering and Materials Science Queen Mary University of London 327 Mile End Road London E1 4NS UK
2. Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology Saint Louis University, St Louis,USA

Abstract—A numerical study was carried out to investigate the effects of a Gurney flap on the aerodynamics performance of the NACA 0018 aerofoil and an associated three-blades rotor of a H-type Darrieus wind turbine. The flow fields around a single aerofoil and the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) rotor are studied using URANS. The height of Gurney flap ranges from 1% to 5% of the aerofoil chord length. The flow fields around a single aerofoil and the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) rotor are simulated using URANS. The results show that the Gurney flap can increase the lift and lift-to-drag ratio of the aerofoil. As a result, adding a Gurney flap can significantly improve the power coefficient of the VAWT at low tip speed ratio, where it typically gives low power production. The causing mechanism is discussed in detail 

Index Terms—Gurney flap, CFD, wind turbine, aerofoil

Cite: Yan Yan, Eldad Avital, John Williams, and Theodosios Korakianitis, "CFD Analysis for the Performance of Gurney Flap on Aerofoil and Vertical Axis Turbine," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 385-392, May 2019. DOI: 10.18178/ijmerr.8.3.385-392