PIV data of straight blade and swept blade wind turbine

In large wind farms, the wake behind the upstream wind turbine affects the performance of the downstream turbines which reduces the overall power output. The geometry of the wind turbine blades has significant effects on the mechanical efficiency of this process. Here, we suggest to utilize a bio-inspired blade based on the common swift wing. Common swift is known to be a long-distance flyer, able to stay aloft for long periods of time by maintaining high lift and low drag. We study the near wake flow characteristics of a horizontal turbine model with swept blades and its aerodynamic loads. These are compared with a straight-bladed turbine. The experiments were conducted in a water flume using particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. Both blades were studied for four different speeds with freestream Reynolds numbers ranging from 23,000 to 41,000. Our results show that the near wake developed behind the swept-back blade was significantly different from the straight blade configuration...