Optimal Design of Anti-icing Blunt Trailing-edge Wind Wheel for H-type Vertical Axis Wind Turbine under Operating Conditions

Abstract

A novel optimization method is developed for the design of an anti-icing blunt trailing-edge wind wheel of H-type VAWT based on the quasi-steady state icing. The parametric expression of the airfoil is given using the mean camber and thickness functions, the blunt trailing-edge is constructed by the rotation and zoom of coordinates, and then through the aerodynamic design theory, the geometry control equations of the blunt trailing-edge wind wheel are established. The SMT is applied to analyze the unsteady flow field, the MRF is combined with Euler method to calculate the collection efficiency of water droplets, the mass and heat transfer analysis is adopted to determine the mass and shape of ice, and then the thickness of the ice layer is obtained and the mesh is updated. The icing process is repeated at the azimuthal angle interval of 45 degree to obtain the ice on the wind wheel per revolution, and the results are compared with experimental data in the existing literature. The optimization model in which the shape factor, blunt trailing-edge thickness, and chord length of the airfoil, the blade length, and the wind wheel radius are taken as design variables is solved using the PSO algorithm integrated with CFD method to maximize the wind energy utilization in both ice-free and icing conditions. Significant improvements are realized for flow and aerodynamic characteristics, confirming that the developed optimization method provides important guidance for the anti-icing design of VAWT blades.