CFD Based Optimization of Oscillatory Wing Motion for Maximum Energy Harvesting from Wind

Oscillating wing is an innovative approach for power extraction from wind. The parameters which define the oscillatory motion of an airfoil are optimized using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The objective of the optimization is to maximize the power extraction from wind. The flows around the oscillating airfoil are computed unsteady and laminar using a Navier-Stokes solver. The computations are conducted parallel in a PC cluster. The oscillatory motion is defined as a combination of plunging and pitching. The optimization variables are the oscillation frequency, the plunge and pitch amplitudes and the phase shift between plunging and pitching. The calculated highest power coefficient is about 0.40, which is comparable to the power coefficient values of conventional rotating wind turbines. The optimum motion is obtained when the reduced frequency is almost unity. Moreover, the maximum power coefficient increases as the plunge amplitude increases.