In this article we present the measurements of local aerodynamic sectional characteristics on a full-scale rotor blade with a novel add-on instrumentation comprising a wake rake, a pressure belt, and a five hole Pitot tube. In general, the demonstration of this instrumentation opens a range of promising new options for optimizing airfoil sectional performance in its real operating environment, e.g. the size and position of VG's.

The need for renewable energy, thus more efficient wind turbines, is ever increasing. Accurate prediction of the performance in the design stage is necessary. In particular, predicting the dynamic performance of a wind turbine in the region where it undergoes highly unsteady flow is very challenging. We investigated the dynamic performance of an airfoil, which is typical for megastructure wind farms, in support of the development of more efficient design tools in the future.

Movable surfaces on wind turbine (WT) blades, called active flaps, can reduce the cost of wind energy. However, they still need extensive testing. This study shows that the computer model used to design a WT with flaps aligns well with measurements obtained from a 3month test on a commercial WT featuring a prototype flap. Particularly during flap actuation, there were minimal differences between simulated and measured data. These findings assure the reliability of WT designs incorporating flaps.

Dynamic stall introduces transient loads that excite blade vibrations, which contribute to mechanical fatigue and can lead to blade failure. In order to design wind turbine airfoils that are less prone to dynamic stall, the onset of dynamic stall has to be predicted. This work contributes to the development of reduced-order models that predict dynamic stall in a cost-efficient way. The models can be used in the design process of new airfoil geometries of future wind turbines.

This work describes a series of tests of active flaps on a 4 MW wind turbine. The measurements were performed between October 2017 and June 2019 using two different active flap configurations on a blade of the turbine, showing a potential to manipulate the loading of the turbine between 5 % and 10 %. This project is performed with the aim of demonstrating a technology with the potential of reducing the levelized cost of energy for wind power.