scholarly journals Assessing the Sensitivity of Stall-Regulated Wind Turbine Power to Blade Design Using High-Fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics

Author(s):  
Andrea G. Sanvito ◽  
Giacomo Persico ◽  
M. Sergio Campobasso

Abstract This study provides a novel contribution toward the establishment of a new high-fidelity simulation-based design methodology for stall-regulated horizontal axis wind turbines. The aerodynamic design of these machines is complex, due to the difficulty of reliably predicting stall onset and poststall characteristics. Low-fidelity design methods, widely used in industry, are computationally efficient, but are often affected by significant uncertainty. Conversely, Navier–Stokes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can reduce such uncertainty, resulting in lower development costs by reducing the need of field testing of designs not fit for purpose. Here, the compressible CFD research code COSA is used to assess the performance of two alternative designs of a 13-m stall-regulated rotor over a wide range of operating conditions. Validation of the numerical methodology is based on thorough comparisons of novel simulations and measured data of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) phase VI turbine rotor, and one of the two industrial rotor designs. An excellent agreement is found in all cases. All simulations of the two industrial rotors are time-dependent, to capture the unsteadiness associated with stall which occurs at most wind speeds. The two designs are cross-compared, with emphasis on the different stall patterns resulting from particular design choices. The key novelty of this work is the CFD-based assessment of the correlation among turbine power, blade aerodynamics, and blade design variables (airfoil geometry, blade planform, and twist) over most operational wind speeds.

Author(s):  
A. G. Sanvito ◽  
G. Persico ◽  
M. S. Campobasso

Abstract This study provides a novel contribution towards the establishment of a new high–fidelity simulation–based design methodology for stall–regulated horizontal axis wind turbines. The aerodynamic design of these machines is complex, due to the difficulty of reliably predicting stall onset and post–stall characteristics. Low–fidelity design methods, widely used in industry, are computationally efficient, but are often affected by significant uncertainty. Conversely, Navier–Stokes CFD can reduce such uncertainty, resulting in lower development costs by reducing the need of field testing of designs not fit for purpose. Here, the compressible CFD research code COSA is used to assess the performance of two alternative designs of a 13–meter stall–regulated rotor over a wide range of operating conditions. Validation of the numerical methodology is based on thorough comparisons of novel simulations and measured data of the NREL Phase VI turbine rotor, and one of the two industrial rotor designs. An excellent agreement is found in all cases. All simulations of the two industrial rotors are time–dependent, to capture the unsteadiness associated with stall which occurs at most wind speeds. The two designs are cross-compared, with emphasis on the different stall patterns resulting from particular design choices. The key novelty of this work is the CFD–based assessment of the correlation among turbine power, blade aerodynamics, and blade design variables (airfoil geometry, blade planform and twist) over most operational wind speeds.


Author(s):  
M Borghi ◽  
G Cantore ◽  
M Milani ◽  
R Paoluzzi

This paper presents some results obtained during the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of internal flows inside a hydraulic component, using a scaling technique applied to numerical pre- and post-processing. The main aim of the work is to demonstrate the reduction of computational work needed for a complete analysis of component behaviour over a wide range of operating conditions. This result is achieved through the adoption of a methodology aimed at giving the highest level of generality to a non-dimensional solution, thereby overcoming the two major limitations encountered in the use of CFD in fluid power design: computer resources and time. In the case study, the technique was applied to a hydraulic distributor and computations were performed with a commercial computational fluid dynamics code. The key factor of this technique is the evaluation, for a given distributor opening, of the Reynolds number of the flow in the metering region. Provided that this number is high enough to ensure that the discharge coefficient has reached its asymptotic value, the characterization of the flow by a single non-dimensional numerical run can be shown. The theoretical contents of the analysis of the re-scaling technique, which focuses on the engineering information necessary in component design, are described in detail. The bases for its subsequent application to actual cases are then outlined. Finally, a fairly close correlation between numerical results and experimental data is presented.


Author(s):  
T. H. Huang

The complex hydrodynamic phenomena of a Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) are partly attributed to interconnecting flow paths. Modelling the hydrodynamic phenomena provides insight to the reactor over a wide range of operating conditions. The Systems Computational Fluid Dynamics (SCFD) approach combines the advantage of conventional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling in simulating the detailed flow interaction to the more robust solver applied in Flownex thermal-hydraulics software. Although this approach is inherently geometry-dependent, its application in a large network or complex model has seen a reduction in computational speed compared to the conventional CFD modelling approach, without compromising the integrity of the result. This expedites the design-analysis cycle and allows testing of a combination of design changes.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Alberto Fernández ◽  
Cintia Casado ◽  
David Alique ◽  
José Antonio Calles ◽  
Javier Marugán

This work focused on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of H2/N2 separation in a membrane permeator module containing a supported dense Pd-based membrane that was prepared using electroless pore-plating (ELP-PP). An easy-to-implement model was developed based on a source–sink pair formulation of the species transport and continuity equations. The model also included the Darcy–Forcheimer formulation for modeling the porous stainless steel (PSS) membrane support and Sieverts’ law for computing the H2 permeation flow through the dense palladium film. Two different reactor configurations were studied, which involved varying the hydrogen flow permeation direction (in–out or out–in). A wide range of experimental data was simulated by considering the impact of the operating conditions on the H2 separation, such as the feed pressure and the H2 concentration in the inlet stream. Simulations of the membrane permeator device showed an excellent agreement between the predicted and experimental data (measured as permeate and retentate flows and H2 separation). Molar fraction profiles inside the permeator device for both configurations showed that concentration polarization near the membrane surface was not a limit for the hydrogen permeation but could be useful information for membrane reactor design, as it showed the optimal length of the reactor.


Author(s):  
Vassilios Pachidis ◽  
Pericles Pilidis ◽  
Geoffrey Guindeuil ◽  
Anestis Kalfas ◽  
Ioannis Templalexis

This study focuses on a simulation strategy that will allow the performance characteristics of an isolated gas turbine engine component, resolved from a detailed, high-fidelity analysis, to be transferred to an engine system analysis carried out at a lower level of resolution. This work will enable component-level, complex physical processes to be captured and analyzed in the context of the whole engine performance, at an affordable computing resource and time. The technique described in this paper utilizes an object-oriented, zero-dimensional (0-D) gas turbine modeling and performance simulation system and a high-fidelity, three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) component model. The technique is called ‘partially integrated’ zooming, in that there is no automatic link between the 0-D engine cycle and the 3-D CFD model. It can be applied to all engine components and involves the generation of a component characteristic map via an iterative execution of the 0-D cycle and the 3-D CFD model. This work investigates relative changes in the simulated engine performance after integrating the CFD-generated component map into the 0-D engine analysis. This paper attempts to demonstrate the ‘partially integrated’ approach to component zooming by using a 3-D CFD intake model of a high by-pass ratio (HBR) turbofan as a case study. The CFD model is based on the geometry of the intake of the CFM56-5B2 engine. The CFD-generated performance map can fully define the characteristic of the intake at several operating conditions and is subsequently used to provide a more accurate, physics-based estimate of intake performance (i.e. pressure recovery) and hence, engine performance, replacing the default, empirical values within the 0-D cycle model. A detailed comparison between the baseline engine performance (empirical pressure recovery) and the engine performance obtained after using the CFD-generated map is presented in this paper. The analysis carried out by this study, demonstrates relative changes in the simulated engine performance larger than 1%.


Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Minghan Luo ◽  
Wenjie Xu ◽  
Xiaorong Kang ◽  
Keqiang Ding ◽  
Taeseop Jeong

The ultraviolet photochemical degradation process is widely recognized as a low-cost, environmentally friendly, and sustainable technology for water treatment. This study integrated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and a photoreactive kinetic model to investigate the effects of flow characteristics on the contaminant degradation performance of a rotating annular photoreactor with a vacuum-UV (VUV)/UV process performed in continuous flow mode. The results demonstrated that the introduced fluid remained in intensive rotational movement inside the reactor for a wide range of inflow rates, and the rotational movement was enhanced with increasing influent speed within the studied velocity range. The CFD modeling results were consistent with the experimental abatement of methylene blue (MB), although the model slightly overestimated MB degradation because it did not fully account for the consumption of OH radicals from byproducts generated in the MB decomposition processes. The OH radical generation and contaminant degradation efficiency of the VUV/UV process showed strong correlation with the mixing level in a photoreactor, which confirmed the promising potential of the developed rotating annular VUV reactor in water treatment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. I. Papadopoulos ◽  
L. Kaiktsis ◽  
M. Fillon

The paper presents a detailed computational study of flow patterns and performance indices in a dimpled parallel thrust bearing. The bearing consists of eight pads; the stator surface of each pad is partially textured with rectangular dimples, aiming at maximizing the load carrying capacity. The bearing tribological performance is characterized by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, based on the numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes and energy equations for incompressible flow. Realistic boundary conditions are implemented. The effects of operating conditions and texture design are studied for the case of isothermal flow. First, for a reference texture pattern, the effects of varying operating conditions, in particular minimum film thickness (thrust load), rotational speed and feeding oil pressure are investigated. Next, the effects of varying texture geometry characteristics, in particular texture zone circumferential/radial extent, dimple depth, and texture density on the bearing performance indices (load carrying capacity, friction torque, and friction coefficient) are studied, for a representative operating point. For the reference texture design, the effects of varying operating conditions are further investigated, by also taking into account thermal effects. In particular, adiabatic conditions and conjugate heat transfer at the bearing pad are considered. The results of the present study indicate that parallel thrust bearings textured by proper rectangular dimples are characterized by substantial load carrying capacity levels. Thermal effects may significantly reduce load capacity, especially in the range of high speeds and high loads. Based on the present results, favorable texture designs can be assessed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (37) ◽  
pp. 14526-14543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale D. McClure ◽  
Hannah Norris ◽  
John M. Kavanagh ◽  
David F. Fletcher ◽  
Geoffrey W. Barton

2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzam Mortazavi ◽  
Alan Palazzolo

Circumferentially grooved, annular liquid seals typically exhibit good whirl frequency ratios (WFRs) and leakage reduction, yet their low effective damping can lead to instability. The current study investigates the rotordynamic behavior of a 15-step groove-on-rotor annular liquid seal by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), in contrast to the previous studies which focused on a groove-on-stator geometry. The seal dimensions and working conditions have been selected based on experiments of Moreland and Childs (2016, “Influence of Pre-Swirl and Eccentricity in Smooth Stator/Grooved Rotor Liquid Annular Seals, Measured Static and Rotordynamic Characteristics,” M.Sc. thesis, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX). The frequency ratios as high as four have been studied. Implementation of pressure-pressure inlet and outlet conditions make the need for loss coefficients at the entrance and exit of the seal redundant. A computationally efficient quasi-steady approach is used to obtain impedance curves as functions of the excitation frequency. The effectiveness of steady-state CFD approach is validated by comparison with the experimental results of Moreland and Childs. Results show good agreement in terms of leakage, preswirl ratio (PSR), and rotordynamic coefficients. It was found that PSR will be about 0.3–0.4 at the entrance of the seal in the case of radial injection, and outlet swirl ratio (OSR) always converges to values near 0.5 for current seal and operational conditions. The negative value of direct stiffness coefficients, large cross-coupled stiffness coefficients, and small direct damping coefficients explains the destabilizing nature of these seals. Finally, the influence of surface roughness on leakage, PSR, OSR, and stiffness coefficients is discussed.


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