Active vibration control of a wind turbine blade using synthetic jets

Active vibration control via an array of synthetic jet actuators was investigated experimentally in a wind tunnel. Using synthetic jets the flow over a small scale S809 finite wind turbine blade was controlled, resulting in reduction of the blade's structural vibrations. The effectiveness of the synthetic jets was explored for a range of post-stall angles of attack at Reynolds numbers between 7.1 × 10⁴ and 2.38 × 10 ⁵. The blade vibrations were measured and quantified using a pair of strain gauges mounted at the root of the model. Using flow control, significant vibration reduction was observed for some post-stall angles of attack. A correlation between vibration reduction and the degree of flow reattachment, measured using Particle Image Velocimetry, was found.