A strong viscous–inviscid interaction model for rotating airfoils

Two-dimensional (2D) and quasi-three dimensional (3D), steady and unsteady, viscous–inviscid interactive codes capable of predicting the aerodynamic behavior of wind turbine airfoils are presented. The model is based on a viscous–inviscid interaction technique using strong coupling between the viscous and inviscid parts. The inviscid part is modeled by a 2D panel method, and the viscous part is modeled by solving the integral form of the laminar and turbulent boundary-layer equations with extension for 3D rotational effects. Laminar-to-turbulent transition is either forced by employing a boundary-layer trip or computed using an en envelope transition method. Validation of the incompressible 2D version of the code is carried out against measurements and other numerical codes for different airfoil geometries at various Reynolds numbers, ranging from 0.9 ⋅ 106 to 8.2 ⋅ 106. In the quasi-3D version, a parametric study on rotational effects induced by the Coriolis and centrifugal forces in the boundary-layer equations shows that the effects of rotation are to decrease the growth of the boundary-layer and delay the onset of separation, hence increasing the lift coefficient slightly while decreasing the drag coefficient. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.