Computational fluid dynamics simulation of the aerodynamics of a high solidity, small‐scale vertical axis wind turbine

Abstract

A computational fluid dynamics simulation was performed for a small-scale, high solidity ( D 0:48) H-type Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine. Two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations were solved for the turbine numerical model, which has a large stationary domain and smaller rotating subdomain connected by a sliding mesh interface. The simulation results were first validated against steady-state airfoil data. The model was then used to solve for three rotating blades with constant ambient flow velocity (Re = 360,000) over numerous blade speed ratios. The high solidity and the associated low blade speed ratio and rotational speed of the turbine result in complex flow-blade interaction mechanisms. These include dynamic stall resulting in vortex shedding, vortex impingement on the source blade and significant flow momentum extraction causing reduced power production from the downstream blade pass.

A numerical investigation into the influence of unsteady wind on the performance and aerodynamics of a vertical axis wind turbine

“…This was based on the review of relevant literature [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] that has shown that a 2D model is sufficient in revealing the factors that influence the performance and majority of flow physics that surround the VAWT. The contributions of blade end effects and blade-support arm junction effects are neglected but deemed acceptable since these can be considered as secondary.…”

Numerical Investigation of the Tip Vortex of a Straight-Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine with Double-Blades

“…Then the tip vortex shedding from the upstream blade can affect the aerodynamic performance of the downstream blade. Meanwhile, the flow field around the wind turbine has a rather complex vortex structure and wind velocity distribution [8][9][10]. Therefore, any study on power performance of VAWTs needs to take into account the evolution of their flow field, especially the tip vortex effect.…”

PIV measurements and CFD simulation of the performance and flow physics and of a small‐scale vertical axis wind turbine

“…Much of the knowledge of the stalling process on VAWTs has been developed from lift and drag polars obtained from pitching aerofoil studies and simulations, Lee [8], [9], [10] and [11]. This is due to the difficulty of carrying out complex experiments on a rotating turbine.…”