Simulation of the impact of adding airfoils to wind turbines on output power

Considering the energy Crisis throughout the world and fossil fuels resources being limited, a lot of care has been given to renewable energy resources and developing new means in order to improve the efficiency of the renewable energy systems. One of the most common and accessible sources of renewable energy is wind energy. Although costly and complex in structures, but still wind turbines are an efficient mean for producing clean energy. In the past few years lots of studies has been conducted regarding wind turbines and ways to increase their efficiency in different working conditions. On of the most innovative ways is to add an airfoil to horizontal wind turbines in order to increase their output power and efficiency. However, the proficiency of the added airfoil depends on many factors such as; radial clearance with wind turbine blades, attack angle of the added airfoil and the shape of the airfoil itself. In this study the effect of adding an airfoil to a predefined wind turbine is studied and parametric studies regarding the airfoil shape, radial clearance and attack angle is conducted so that the optimum configuration is achieved.