Comparative performance analysis of NACA 2414 and NACA 6409 airfoils for horizontal axis small wind turbine

Abstract

While wind energy, which has an important place among renewable energy sources, is converted into electrical energy by means of wind turbines, the designs and aerodynamic behaviors of turbine blades gain importance in order to obtain optimal efficiency. The most important factor affecting the wind energy capture performance and aerodynamic behavior of the blade is the aerofil structure. In this study, the design and comparative performance analysis of NACA 2414 and NACA 6409 series airfoils under wind turbine conditions with 1x10^6 fixed reynolds number, 0-20^0 attack angles, constant air density and ambient conditions, 3kW nominal power and 2m blade length were carried out. The designs and analyzes for both airfoils were simulated using Q-Blade software version 2.0.5.2. While designing the blade, the propeller blade was divided into 20 equal parts so that there would be no aerodynamic interaction between the elements, and analyzes were made with a calculation method based on the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory. As a result, by comparing different features such as lift (Cl) and drag (Cd) coefficients, pressure distribution on the blades, power coefficients, it was seen that the NACA 6409 airfoil was more efficient than the NACA 2414 airfoil for small diameter wind turbines.