[Paper Review] NREL Phase VI wind turbine in the dusty environment

J. Zare, Seyed Ehsan Hosseini+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Apr 13, 2023

Wind Energy Research and Development14 citations

TL;DR

A numerical study using a Lagrangian–Eulerian multiphase model to assess how dusty air affects the NREL Phase VI wind turbine, showing performance deterioration and quantifying power reductions for different dust particle sizes.

ABSTRACT

The meteorological conditions markedly affect the energy efficiencies and cost/power rate of the wind turbines. This study numerically investigates the performance of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Phase VI wind turbine, designed to be insusceptible to surface roughness, undergoing either clean or dusty air. First, the numerical approach is validated against the available experimental data for clean air. Following this, the model is developed into a Lagrangian-Eulerian multiphase approach to comprehensively analyze the effects of the dusty air. The dependence of aerodynamic performance on the wind speed (= 5-25 m/s), particle diameter dp (= 0.025-0.9 mm) and angle of attack (= 0o-44o) is investigated. It is found that the turbine performance generally deteriorates in dusty conditions. But it becomes relatively acute for dp > 0.1 mm and post-stall state. As such, the generated power is reduced by 4.3% and 13.3% on average for the air with the dp = 0.05 and 0.9 mm, respectively. The particles change the flow field profoundly, declining the pressure difference between the suction/pressure sides of the blade-airfoil, advancing the boundary layer separation, and strengthening the recirculation zones. The above changes account for a lower lift coefficient and higher drag coefficient.

Motivation & Objective

• Validate the numerical approach against clean-air experimental data for the NREL Phase VI turbine.
• Develop a Lagrangian–Eulerian multiphase model to capture dusty-air effects on rotor aerodynamics.
• Investigate how wind speed (5–25 m/s), particle diameter (0.025–0.9 mm), and angle of attack (0–44°) influence performance.
• Characterize how dust alters flow fields, lift/drag, and boundary-layer behavior to explain power losses.

Proposed method

• Validate the numerical model with available clean-air experimental data for the turbine.
• Adopt a Lagrangian–Eulerian multiphase framework to simulate dusty air interacting with rotor blades.
• Systematically vary wind speed (5–25 m/s), dust particle diameter (0.025–0.9 mm), and angle of attack (0–44°).
• Analyze aerodynamic coefficients and flow-field changes, including lift, drag, pressure distribution, and boundary-layer separation.
• Assess how dust-induced flow modifications translate to power output losses.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How does dusty air affect the aerodynamic performance of the NREL Phase VI turbine compared with clean air?
• RQ2 How do dust particle size, wind speed, and angle of attack interact to alter lift, drag, and overall power output?
• RQ3 What flow-field mechanisms (pressure differences, boundary-layer behavior, recirculation) drive performance changes in dust?

Key findings

• Turbine performance generally deteriorates in dusty conditions.
• Power is reduced by 4.3% for dp = 0.05 mm and by 13.3% for dp = 0.9 mm on average.
• Dust primarily affects dp > 0.1 mm and post-stall conditions, with more acute impact.
• Particles modify the flow field by reducing suction/pressure-side pressure difference, advancing boundary-layer separation, and strengthening recirculation zones.
• These flow changes lead to a lower lift coefficient and higher drag coefficient.