  Here we have investigated the usage of a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD)
plasma actuator to improve the aerodynamic performance of an offshore 6MW wind
turbine. By controlling the aerodynamic load at different blade sections, the
overall generated power and the blade loading is improved. The blade is divided
to seven segments and the analysis is applied to each segment. To study effects
of configuration and location, actuators were installed in a single or tandem
configuration, spread between 46% and 56% of the span length, at different
chord wise locations. The improved phenomenological model developed by authors
were used to simulate the interaction of the electrostatic field, the ionized
particles and the fluid flow. Using the aerodynamic coefficients of each
section predicted by numerical simulation, the generated power was estimated.
We investigated how the location and configuration of the single and tandem
actuators improve the generated power up to 95kW. Also, we studied possibility
of using collective pitch angles. It showed that with a collective pitch angle
of 10 degrees, one may harvest 10.03% or 11.42% more energy at wind speeds of 6
and 10 m/s respectively. Among seven cases studied, actuators closer to the
leading edge performed better than others.
