Sharif Digital Repository

In this study a multi-objective genetic algorithm is utilized to obtain a Pareto optimal set of solutions for geometrical characteristics of airfoil sections for 10-meter blades of a horizontal axis wind turbine. The performance of the airfoil sections during the process of energy conversion is evaluated deploying a 2D incompressible unsteady CFD solver and the second law analysis. Artificial neural networks are trained employing CFD obtained data sets to represent objective functions in an algorithm which implements exergetic performance and integrity characteristics as optimization objectives. The results show that utilizing the second law approach along with Pareto optimality concept... 

In this study, the effect of deploying microtabs on performance improvement of a horizontal axis wind turbine blade is numerically investigated in three-dimensions. The NREL Phase VI, a stall-regulated upwind wind turbine, is used as the baseline case. Different cases are considered to investigate the effects of spanwise location as well as the height variation of tabs along the blade span, on the flow over the rotor blade. In all cases, the tab is located at 95% chord of the airfoil section on the lower surface of the blade. Results reveal that locating microtabs at the outboard part of the blade has a greater impact on the rotor performance than the inboard part. However, both cases...