Designing an Airfoil Family for Large Offshore Wind Turbines: NACA 23010 Database

The quest for more efficient and sustainable energy sources has led to significant advancements in the field of wind energy. One crucial aspect of wind turbine design is the airfoil, which plays a vital role in determining the overall performance of the machine. The EOLIA project (2007-2010), funded by the Spanish government, aimed to design large offshore wind turbines for deep waters. As part of this project, ACCIONA Energia and ACCIONA Windpower collaborated with CENER (Spanish National Renewable Energy Centre) to develop a new airfoil family specifically designed for large offshore wind turbine blades.

The NACA 23010 airfoil database is a collection of force coefficients obtained using the panel code XFOIL. This tool simulates the interaction between the boundary layer and inviscid flow via surface transpiration modeling, providing accurate predictions of aerodynamic performance. The airfoil family was designed using an evolutionary algorithm-based optimization tool, which integrates both aerodynamic and structural objectives with an airfoil geometry generation tool.

The primary goal of this project was to reduce blade loads while maintaining power production. Large offshore wind turbines face significant extreme loads due to their size, and the lack of noise restrictions allows for higher tip speeds. To address these challenges, a new airfoil family was designed specifically for large offshore wind turbine blades in the range of 5MW machines.

The EOLIA project focused on designing large offshore wind turbines for deep waters, which presents unique challenges. Wind turbine blade size has increased significantly over recent years due to advancements in platform technology, particularly for offshore applications. The NACA 23010 airfoil database is an important resource for engineers and researchers working on wind energy projects, providing valuable insights into the performance of different airfoils.

In conclusion, the design of a new airfoil family for large offshore wind turbines is crucial for improving the efficiency and reliability of these machines. The collaboration between ACCIONA Energia, ACCIONA Windpower, and CENER has resulted in a significant contribution to the field of wind energy, providing valuable insights into the design of airfoils for large offshore wind turbines.

Naca 23010 airfoil database