Aerodynamic Performance of a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Operating with Dust—A Computational Study

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the aerodynamic performance of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) operating in a dusty environment, with various concentration of dust in the flow domain. The computational analysis was accomplished by the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS Fluent 16.0. Initially, a user-friendly developed application was utilized for the optimum blade geometry special characteristics calculation. The design of the HAWT rotor and meshing of the computational domain follows. The moving reference frame (MRF) model was applied for the rotary motion of the blades, the dust was added in the computational domain by the discrete phase model (DPM) and SST k–ω turbulence model was enabled. The power output of the studied HAWT, operating in several dusty environments, was estimated and compared with the power output of a particular HAWT in clean air. The flow field around the HAWT rotor, including the contours of pressure, particles dissipation rate and erosion rate on both blade sides, are shown. In general, it is concluded that the operation of a HAWT in a dusty environment results in degraded performance, due to the particles deposition on the blades.

Aerodynamic Characteristics of Wind Turbines Operating under Hazard Environmental Conditions: A Review

“…Subsequently, they analyzed the power generation and performance of the HAWT in rainy conditions, and the results indicated that during rain, the pitch angles should be decreased when the wind speed exceeds the predefined threshold value. Douvi et al [117] investigated the aerodynamic characteristics of HAWT with three blades, constructed by NACA 4418 airfoil, under three different rainy conditions. The blade geometry was optimized using the TTBEM application [118], while a commercial CFD code was employed for simulations.…”

“…The erosion rate resulting from raindrop impact is found to be proportional to the cube of the blade's relative wind velocity, while the impact force exhibits a power-law relationship with the square of the wind velocity. Douvi et al examined, computationally, the impact of hailstorm conditions on the aerodynamic characteristics of the S809 [123] and the NACA 0012 [124] airfoils. The results confirmed that hailstorm conditions have a significant effect on the aerodynamic characteristics of both airfoils, resulting in a decrease in the lift coefficient and an increase in the drag coefficient when compared to normal airflow.…”

“…As the AOA increases, particle concentration narrows down to a smaller section of the airfoil. Douvi et al [150] studied the aerodynamic efficiency of a HAWT operating in a dusty environment with varying dust concentrations in the airflow. An optimized rotor for a three-bladed HAWT, constructed with S809 airfoil blades, was calculated using the userfriendly TTBEM application [118] and designed by QBlade [151].…”

Aerodynamic Performance of Wind Turbines Operating under Hazard Environmental Conditions: A Review

“…Douvi et al [118] investigated the aerodynamic performance of a three-bladed HAWT, with blades constructed by NACA 4418 airfoil, under three different rainy conditions. The blade geometry was optimized using the TTBEM application [119], while a commercial CFD code was employed for simulations.…”

“…Douvi et al examined computationally the impact of hailstorm conditions on the aerodynamic performance of the S809 [124] and the NACA 0012 [125] airfoil. The results confirmed that hailstorm conditions have a significant effect on the aerodynamic performance of both airfoils, resulting in a decrease in the lift coefficient and an increase in the drag coefficient when compared to normal airflow.…”