Original Research Articles

Parametric Optimisation of the SG6042 Airfoil for Improved Lift-to-Drag Performance of Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines at Low Reynolds Numbers

Muhammad Ramzan Luhur , Sher Muhammad Ghoto, Aijaz Abbasi, Muhammad Kashif Abbasi, Azhar Hussain Shah, Sajjad Bhangwar & Arif Ali Rind

Received 5 Aug 2026, Published online: 5 Aug 2026

Published in Volume 6, Issue 2, 2026, pages 1-8

Open access

View PDF

Abstract

Small horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) operate at chord Reynolds numbers well below those of utility-scale machines, typically between 1×10⁵ and 6×10⁵, where laminar separation raises profile drag and lowers the lift-to-drag ratio of conventional airfoils. This study presents a numerical optimisation of the SG6042 airfoil, a section developed for small wind turbines, with the objective of raising its maximum lift-to-drag ratio (CL/CD) under low Reynolds number conditions. The baseline SG6042 geometry, with 10 percent thickness and 3.75 percent camber, was analysed in QBlade, which couples the XFOIL panel method with blade design routines, and the computed performance was compared with published wind tunnel data. Eighteen modified profiles were then generated by varying maximum thickness from 5 to 9 percent of chord and maximum camber from 5 to 9 percent of chord, and each profile was analysed at Reynolds numbers from 1×10⁵ to 6×10⁵ over an incremental sweep of angle of attack. All modified profiles outperformed the baseline. Peak efficiency moved to lower angles of attack as Reynolds number increased, from 5.5 to 6 degrees at Re = 1×10⁵ to 3 to 3.5 degrees at Re = 5×10⁵ and 6×10⁵. The best three sections, SG6042M5-7, SG6042M5-8 and SG6042M5-9, combine 5 percent thickness with 7 to 9 percent camber and reached maximum CL/CD values of 178.25, 182.41 and 182.40 respectively at 3.5 degrees and Re = 5×10⁵, against 124.10 for the baseline under identical computational settings, an improvement of about 47 percent. The results confirm that reduced thickness combined with raised camber is an effective route to high aerodynamic efficiency for small HAWT blades, subject to structural verification and experimental validation.

Keywords

  • low Reynolds number airfoil
  • SG6042
  • small horizontal axis wind turbine
  • lift-to-drag ratio
  • QBlade
  • thickness-to-camber ratio

References

  1. Alaskari, M., Abdullah, O., & Majeed, M. H. (2019). Analysis of wind turbine using QBlade software. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 518(3).
  2. Alsahlani, A. A., Al-Saad, M., & Al-Mosallam, M. (2023). A study of impacts of airfoil geometry on the aerodynamic performance at low Reynolds number. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, 12(2).
  3. Betz, A. (1966). Introduction to the theory of flow machines. Pergamon Press.
  4. Castelli, M. R., Englaro, A., & Benini, E. (2011). The Darrieus wind turbine: Proposal for a new performance prediction model based on CFD. Energy, 36(8), 4919-4934.
  5. Davari, H. S., et al. (2023). Maximizing the peak lift-to-drag coefficient ratio of airfoils by optimizing the ratio of thickness to the camber of airfoils. Sustainable Earth Review, 3(4), 46-61.
  6. Drela, M. (1989). XFOIL: An analysis and design system for low Reynolds number airfoils. In T. J. Mueller (Ed.), Low Reynolds number aerodynamics (pp. 1-12). Springer.
  7. Giguère, P., & Selig, M. S. (1997). Low Reynolds number airfoils for small horizontal axis wind turbines. Wind Engineering, 21(6), 367-380.
  8. Giguère, P., & Selig, M. S. (1998). New airfoils for small horizontal axis wind turbines. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 120(2), 108-114.
  9. Henriques, J. C. C., Marques da Silva, F., Estanqueiro, A. I., & Gato, L. M. C. (2009). Design of a new urban wind turbine airfoil using a pressure-load inverse method. Renewable Energy, 34(12), 2728-2734.
  10. Hossain, S., Raiyan, M. F., Akanda, M. N. U., & Jony, N. H. (2014). A comparative flow analysis of NACA 6409 and NACA 4412 aerofoil. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, 3(10), 342-350.
  11. Jha, S., et al. (2018). Effect of Reynolds number on the aerodynamic performance of NACA 0012 aerofoil. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 377(1).
  12. Kevadiya, M., & Vaidya, H. A. (2013). 2D analysis of NACA 4412 airfoil. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 2(5), 1686-1691.
  13. Khalil, Y., Tenghiri, L., Abdi, F., & Bentamy, A. (2020). Improvement of aerodynamic performance of a small wind turbine. Wind Engineering, 44(1), 21-32.
  14. Leloudas, S. N., et al. (2020). Low Reynolds airfoil family for small horizontal axis wind turbines based on RG15 airfoil. SN Applied Sciences, 2.
  15. Limin, Q., et al. (2011). The investigation of the airfoil for the small wind turbine based on the seagull airfoil. In Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
  16. Miley, S. J. (1982). A catalog of low Reynolds number airfoil data for wind turbine applications (Report No. RFP-3387, UC-60). Rockwell International.
  17. Noronha, N. P., & Krishna, M. (2020). Design and analysis of micro horizontal axis wind turbine using MATLAB and QBlade. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(10S), 8877-8885.
  18. Osei, E. Y., Opoku, R., Sunnu, A. K., & Adaramola, M. S. (2020). Development of high-performance airfoils for application in small wind turbine power generation. Journal of Energy, 2020.
  19. Rasheed, M. A., & Al-Qaisy, A. A. (2008). Experimental investigation of aerodynamic characteristics of NACA 23015 under different angles of attack. Engineering and Technology Journal, 27(2).
  20. Roy, S., Das, B., & Biswas, A. (2021). Influence of camber ratio and thickness ratio on the airfoil performance [Conference paper].
  21. Selig, M. S., & McGranahan, B. D. (2004). Wind tunnel aerodynamic tests of six airfoils for use on small wind turbines. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 126(4), 986-1001.
  22. Shah, H., Bhattarai, N., Mathew, S., & Lim, C. M. (2012). Low Reynolds number airfoil for small horizontal axis wind turbine blades [Conference paper].
  23. Shah, H., Mathew, S., & Lim, C. M. (2014). A novel low Reynolds number airfoil design for small horizontal axis wind turbines. Wind Engineering, 38(4), 377-391.
  24. Singh, R. K., & Ahmed, M. R. (2013). Blade design and performance testing of a small wind turbine rotor for low wind speed applications. Renewable Energy, 50, 812-819.
  25. Singh, R. K., Ahmed, M. R., Zullah, M. A., & Lee, Y.-H. (2012). Design of a low Reynolds number airfoil for small horizontal axis wind turbines. Renewable Energy, 42, 66-76.
  26. Suresh, A., & Rajakumar, S. (2019). Design of small horizontal axis wind turbine for low wind speed rural applications. Materials Today: Proceedings.
  27. Wang, J., et al. (2011). Analysis of aerodynamic performance of wind turbine airfoil under the same relative thickness. Water Resources and Power, 29(9).
  28. Wang, Y., et al. (2018). Investigation on aerodynamic performance of vertical axis wind turbine with different series airfoil shapes. Renewable Energy, 126, 801-818.
  29. Wata, J., Faizal, M., Talu, B., Vanawalu, L., Sotia, P., & Ahmed, M. R. (2011). Studies on a low Reynolds number airfoil for small wind turbine applications. Science China Technological Sciences, 54(7), 1684-1688.
  30. Yang, S. L., Chang, Y. L., & Arici, O. (1995). Navier-Stokes computations of the NREL airfoil using a k-omega turbulent model at high angles of attack. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 117(4), 304-310.
  31. Yao, J., et al. (2012). Numerical simulation of aerodynamic performance for two dimensional wind turbine airfoils. Procedia Engineering, 31, 80-86.
  32. Rind, A. A., Luhur, M. R., Manganhar, A. L., Ghoto, S. M., & Bhangwar, S. (2026). Design Optimization of a Low Reynolds Number Airfoil SG6043 for Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines. Wind, 6(2), 20.
  33. Qazi, M. A., & Sohail, N. (n.d.). Factors influencing the intention to engage in socially responsible investing. Journal of Economic Innovation and Development. https://globalscientifichub.com/index.php/JEID
  34. Mousumi, A. (2026). Service quality, engagement, and loyalty in Malaysian telecom. International Journal of Business and Social Science Studies, 6(1). https://ijbsss.com/index

Metrics

Article views
121
Downloads
120

Licensing

© 2026 Journal of Magnetism and Its Applications. This article is published under CC BY 4.0.

How to cite

Muhammad Ramzan Luhur , M. R. L., Sher Muhammad Ghoto, S. M. G., Aijaz Abbasi, A. A., Muhammad Kashif Abbasi, M. K. A., Azhar Hussain Shah, A. H. S., Sajjad Bhangwar, S. B., & Arif Ali Rind, A. A. R. (2026). Parametric Optimisation of the SG6042 Airfoil for Improved Lift-to-Drag Performance of Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines at Low Reynolds Numbers. Journal of Magnetism and Its Applications, 6(2), 1-8.

How to Cite

Parametric Optimisation of the SG6042 Airfoil for Improved Lift-to-Drag Performance of Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines at Low Reynolds Numbers. (2026). Journal of Magnetism and Its Applications, 6(2), 1-8. https://jourmag.org/index.php/jma/article/view/152