Energies 2015, 8(6), 5885-5897; doi:10.3390/en8065885
An Innovative Design of a Microtab Deployment Mechanism for Active Aerodynamic Load Control
1
Department of Mechanical & Electro-Mechanical Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, No. 70 Lien-hai Rd., Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
2
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of California - Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Frede Blaabjerg
Received: 6 May 2015 / Revised: 5 June 2015 / Accepted: 8 June 2015 / Published: 17 June 2015
(This article belongs to the Collection Wind Turbines)
Abstract
This study presents an innovative design of a microtab system for aerodynamic load control on horizontal-axis wind-turbine rotors. Microtabs are small devices located near the trailing edge of the rotor blades and enable a rapid increase or decrease of the lift force through deployment of the tabs on the pressure or suction side of the airfoil, respectively. The new system has been designed to replace an earlier linearly-actuated microtab mechanism whose performance was limited by space restrictions and stiction. The newly-designed microtab system is based on a four-bar linkage that overcomes the two drawbacks. Its improved kinematics allows for the tab height to increase from 1.0% to 1.7% of the airfoil chord when fully deployed, thereby making it more effective in terms of aerodynamic load control. Furthermore, the modified four-bar link mechanism provides a more robust and reliable mechanical structure. View Full-Text
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
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Tsai, K.-C.; Pan, C.-T.; Cooperman, A.M.; Johnson, S.J.; van Dam, C.P. An Innovative Design of a Microtab Deployment Mechanism for Active Aerodynamic Load Control. Energies 2015, 8, 5885-5897.
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