Abstract: Thick airfoil families with desirable aerodynamic performance with minimal airfoil induced noise. The airfoil families are suitable for a variety of wind turbine designs and are particularly well-suited for use with horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) with constant or variable speed using pitch and/or stall control. In exemplary embodiments, a first family of three thick airfoils is provided for use with small wind turbines and second family of three thick airfoils is provided for use with very large machines, e.g., an airfoil defined for each of three blade radial stations or blade portions defined along the length of a blade. Each of the families is designed to provide a high maximum lift coefficient or high lift, to exhibit docile stalls, to be relatively insensitive to roughness, and to achieve a low profile drag.

Abstract: Thick airfoil families with desirable aerodynamic performance with minimal airfoil induced noise. The airfoil families are suitable for a variety of wind turbine designs and are particularly well-suited for use with horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) with constant or variable speed using pitch and/or stall control. In exemplary embodiments, a first family of three thick airfoils is provided for use with small wind turbines and second family of three thick airfoils is provided for use with very large machines, e.g., an airfoil defined for each of three blade radial stations or blade portions defined along the length of a blade. Each of the families is designed to provide a high maximum lift coefficient or high lift, to exhibit docile stalls, to be relatively insensitive to roughness, and to achieve a low profile drag.