A Turbosail profile analysis code based on the panel method

- A numerical model of the air flow around the Turbosail profile is presented.
- Panel method is used.
- The effect of the relative thickness of Turbosail profile on aerodynamic performance is explored.
- The influence of the flap angle and the suction on the lift and drag coefficients are studied.
- Results are very important for developing the simple design and applications for Turbosail.

With the soaring of fuel prices and the increase of environmental issues, research in the field of wind power has known a significant growth around the world. The new concept of the Turbosail has been introduced, but did not reach the practical use stage. Despite its practical interest, little work has been conducted on the Turbosail in the recent years.The aim of this paper is to develop an accurate numerical code, based on the singularities method, for the Turbosail analysis and applications. The effects of thickness, suction and flap deflections on the aerodynamics performances of Turbosail profile are studied. The simulation results show that the flap plays an important role in increasing the lift. On the other hand, at high deflection angles, it is generally ineffective for drag reduction. It is found that the suction decreases significantly the drag and causes a little increase in lift. The main conclusion is that, the incorporation of the flap and the suction effect doubly enhance the Turbosail efficiency by increasing its lift and reducing its drag respectively. These results are very important and provide the impetus for developing; the simple design equations and applications for the Turbosail.