Design and experiment of the NPU-WA airfoil family for wind turbines

NPU-WA airfoil family is designed for MW-size wind turbines and it is featured by advanced aerodynamic performance at high lift and high Reynolds number. Wind tunnel tests show that the airfoils are of higher lift to drag ratio than present wind turbine airfoils at high lift and high Reynolds number and insensitivity of maximum lift to leading edge roughness, which are satisfied the main design requirements. From this study the NPU-WA airfoil data base including geometry and the wind tunnel test performance at Reynolds number from 1.0×10 ⁶~5.0×10 ⁶ are developed. The airfoils can be applied to MW-size wind turbine design for the China industry with independent intellectual property rights.