Although much employed, wind energy systems still present an open,
contemporary topic of many research studies. Special attention is given to
precise aerodynamic modeling performed in the beginning since overall wind
turbine performances directly depend on blade aerodynamic performances.
Several models different in complexity and computational requirements are
still widely used. Most common numerical approaches include: i) momentum
balance models, ii) potential flow methods and iii) full computational fluid
dynamics solutions. Short explanations, reviews and comparison of the
existing computational concepts are presented in the paper. Simpler models
are described and implemented while numerous numerical investigations of
isolated horizontal-axis wind turbine rotor consisting of three blades have
also been performed in ANSYS FLUENT 16.2. Flow field is modeled by Reynolds
Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations closed by two different turbulence
models. Results including global parameters such as thrust and power
coefficients as well as local distributions along the blade obtained by
different models are compared to available experimental data. Presented
results include fluid flow visualizations in the form of velocity contours,
sectional pressure distributions and values of power and thrust force
coefficients for a range of operational regimes. Although obtained numerical
results vary in accuracy, all presented numerical settings seem to slightly
under- or over-estimate the global wind turbine parameters (power and thrust
force coefficients). Turbulence can greatly affect the wind turbine
aerodynamics and should be modeled with care. [Project of the Serbian
Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no.
35035]
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.