Vortex generators for wind turbine rotor blades having noise-reducing features

A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine, comprising:

• a rotor blade having surfaces defining a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge extending between a blade tip and a blade root;
• and,
• at least one vortex generator mounted in a laminar flow region on at least one of the pressure side or the suction side of the rotor blade, the laminar flow region encompassing areas of the rotor blade where laminar airflow transitions to turbulent airflow, the vortex generator comprising a base portion and at least one airflow modifying element extending from the base portion, the base portion having a leading edge and a trailing edge extending in a first direction,
• wherein the base portion comprises one or more edge indentions formed into at least one of the leading edge or the trailing edge of the base and terminating before an edge of the at least one airflow modifying element, at least one of the one or more edge indentions being non-parallel with respect to the first direction so as to reduce laminar boundary layer instability noise;
• wherein one or more edge indentions is chamfered towards at least one of the pressure side or the suction side of the rotor blade.

A rotor blade assembly for a wind turbine, comprising:

• a rotor blade having surfaces defining a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge, and a trailing edge extending between a blade tip and a blade root;
• at least one vortex generator mounted in a laminar flow region on at least one of the pressure side or the suction side of the rotor blade, the laminar flow region encompassing areas of the rotor blade where laminar airflow transitions to turbulent airflow, the vortex generator comprising a base portion and at least one airflow modifying element extending from the base portion, the base portion having a leading edge and a trailing edge, wherein the base portion comprises one or more edge indentions formed into at least one of the leading edge or the trailing edge of the base and terminating before an edge of the at least one airflow modifying element;
• and,
• at least one boundary-layer trip element mounted upstream of the vortex generator, the boundary-layer trip element configured to disrupt the airflow upstream of the vortex generator so as to force laminar airflow to turbulent airflow, thereby eliminating noise caused by laminar boundary layer instability;
• wherein the one or more edge indentions is chamfered towards at least one of the pressure side or the suction side of the rotor blade.