Comparison of flow modification induced by plasma and fluidic jet actuators dedicated to circulation control around wind turbine airfoils

In order to reduce the aerodynamic load fluctuations on wind turbine blades by innovative control solutions, strategies of active circulation control acting at the blade airfoil trailing edge are studied, allowing lift increase and decrease. This study presents a comparison of results obtained by performing surface plasma and continuous fluidic jet actuation on a blade airfoil designed with a rounded trailing edge. In the present study, both actuator types are located at the trailing edge. Plasma actuators act uniformly in the spanwise direction, whereas fluidic jets blow through small squared holes distributed along the span, and therefore, provide a three-dimensional action on the flow. Load and velocity field measurements were performed to assess the effectiveness of both actuators and to highlight the flow mechanisms induced by both actuation methods for lift-up configurations. Results are presented for a chord Reynolds number of 2. 105 and for a lift coefficient increase of 0.06.