Numerical Study of The Interference Effects in Small Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuko Sato ◽  
Tetuya Kawamura

Two dimensional flows around multiple small wind turbines installed in a line are investigated by numerical simulation. The turbines which studied in this research are cross-flow type with vertical axis. Incompressible Navier-Stokes equation is solved by the finite difference method based on the Fractional Step method. Overset grid system is employed in this simulation. A rotating coordinate system, which rotates at the same speed of the turbines, is used for a vicinity of the rotor and a stationary coordinate system is used for the other area. The interference among lined cross-flow wind turbines is investigated for their urban area use.

Volume 1 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungsu Lee ◽  
Kyung-Soo Yang ◽  
Jong-Yeon Hwang

Development of geometry-independent computational method and educational codes for simulation of 2D flows around objects of complex geometry is presented. Referred as immersed boundary method, it introduces virtual forcing to governing equations to represent the effect of physical boundaries. The present method is based on a finite-volume approach on a staggered grid with a fractional-step method to solve Navier-Stokes equation and continuity equation. Both momentum and mass forcings are introduced on and inside the object to satisfy no-slip condition and mass conservation. Since Cartesian grid lines in general do not coincide with the immersed boundaries, several interpolation schemes are employed. Several examples are simulated using the method presented in this study and the results agree well with other results. Both user-friendly preprocessor with GUI and FORTRAN-based solver are open to the public for educational purposes.


Author(s):  
K. Vijaykumar ◽  
S. Poonkodi ◽  
A.T. Sriram

Sunroof has become one of the essential features of a luxury car, and it provides natural air circulation and good illumination into the car. But the primary problem associated with it is the buffeting noise which causes discomfort to the passengers. Though adequate studies were carried out on sunroof buffeting, efficient control techniques are needed to be developed from fundamental mechanism. To reduce the buffeting noise, flow modifications at the entrance of the sunroof is considered in this study. The internal portion of the car with sunroof is simplified into a shear driven open cavity, and two-dimensional numerical simulations are carried out using commercial solver, ANSYS Fluent. Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equation is used with the realizable k-? turbulence model. The unsteady numerical result obtained in this study is validated with the available experimental results for the dominant frequency. The prediction is good agreement with experiment. Flow modification technique is proposed to control the sunroof buffeting by implementing geometric modifications. A hump has been placed near the leading edge of the cavity which resulted in significant reduction of pressure oscillations. Parametric studies have been performed by varying the height of hump and the distance of hump from the leading edge. There is no prominent difference when the height of the hump is varied. As the distance of the hump from the leading edge is reduced, the sound pressure level decreases.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajun Chen ◽  
Yue Sun ◽  
Hang Zhang ◽  
Dakui Feng ◽  
Zhiguo Zhang

Mixing in pipe junctions can play an important role in exciting force and distribution of flow in pipe network. This paper investigated the cross pipe junction and proposed an improved plan, Y-shaped pipe junction. The numerical study of a three-dimensional pipe junction was performed for calculation and improved understanding of flow feature in pipe. The filtered Navier–Stokes equations were used to perform the large-eddy simulation of the unsteady incompressible flow in pipe. From the analysis of these results, it clearly appears that the vortex strength and velocity non-uniformity of centerline, can be reduced by Y-shaped junction. The Y-shaped junction not only has better flow characteristic, but also reduces head loss and exciting force. The results of the three-dimensional improvement analysis of junction can be used in the design of pipe network for industry.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rafael Pacheco ◽  
Arturo Pacheco-Vega ◽  
Sigfrido Pacheco-Vega

Abstract A new approach for the solution of time-dependent calculations of buoyancy driven currents is presented. This method employs the idea that density variation can be pursued by using markers distributed in the flow field. The analysis based on the finite difference technique with the non-staggered grid fractional step method is used to solve the flow equations written in terms of primitive variables. The physical domain is transformed to a rectangle by means of a numerical mapping technique. The problems analyzed include two-fluid flow in a tank with sloping bottom and colliding density currents. The numerical experiments performed show that this approach is efficient and robust.


2007 ◽  
Vol 581 ◽  
pp. 287-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
RUPESH B. KOTAPATI ◽  
RAJAT MITTAL ◽  
LOUIS N. CATTAFESTA III

The flow associated with a synthetic jet transitioning to turbulence in an otherwise quiescent external flow is examined using time-accurate three-dimensional numerical simulations. The incompressible Navier–Stokes solver uses a second-order accurate scheme for spatial discretization and a second-order semi-implicit fractional step method for time integration. The simulations are designed to model the experiments of C. S. Yao et al. (Proc. NASA LaRC Workshop, 2004) which have examined, in detail, the external evolution of a transitional synthetic jet in quiescent flow. Although the jet Reynolds and Stokes numbers in the simulations match with the experiment, a number of simplifications have been made in the synthetic jet actuator model adopted in the current simulations. These include a simpler representation of the cavity and slot geometry and diaphragm placement. Despite this, a reasonably good match with the experiments is obtained in the core of the jet and this indicates that for these jets, matching of these key non-dimensional parameters is sufficient to capture the critical features of the external jet flow. The computed results are analysed further to gain insight into the dynamics of the external as well as internal flow. The results indicate that near the jet exit plane, the flow field is dominated by the formation of counter-rotating spanwise vortex pairs that break down owing to the rapid growth of spanwise instabilities and transition to turbulence a short distance from the slot. Detailed analyses of the unsteady characteristics of the flow inside the jet cavity and slot provide insights that to date have not been available from experiments.


Author(s):  
Sung-Eun Kim ◽  
L. Srinivasa Mohan

Large eddy simulations were carried out for the flow around a hydrodynamically smooth, fixed circular cylinder at two Reynolds numbers, one at a subcritical Reynolds number (Re = 1.4 × 105) and the other at a supercritical Reynolds number (Re = 1.0 × 106). The computations were made using a parallelized finite-volume Navier-Stokes solver based on a multidimensional linear reconstruction scheme that allows use of unstructured meshes. Central differencing was used for discretization of both convection and diffusion terms. Time-advancement scheme, based on an implicit, non-iterative fractional-step method, was adopted in conjunction with a three-level, backward second-order temporal discretization. Subgrid-scale turbulent viscosity was modeled by a dynamic Smagorinsky model adapted to arbitrary unstructured meshes with the aid of a test-filter applicable to arbitrary unstructured meshes. The present LES results closely reproduced the flow features observed in experiments at both Reynolds numbers. The time-averaged mean drag coefficient, root-mean-square force coefficients and the frequency content of fluctuating forces (vortex-shedding frequency) are predicted with a commendable accuracy.


Author(s):  
K. Vafiadis ◽  
H. Fintikakis ◽  
I. Zaproudis ◽  
A. Tourlidakis

In urban areas, it is preferable to use small wind turbines which may be integrated to a building in order to supply the local grid with green energy. The main drawback of using wind turbines in urban areas is that the air flow is affected by the existence of nearby buildings, which in conjunction with the variation of wind speed, wind direction and turbulence may adversely affect wind energy extraction. Moreover, the efficiency of a wind turbine is limited by the Betz limit. One of the methods developed to increase the efficiency of small wind turbines and to overcome the Betz limit is the introduction of a converging – diverging shroud around the turbine. Several researchers have studied the effect of shrouds on Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines, but relatively little research has been carried out on shroud augmented Vertical Axis Wind Turbines. This paper presents the numerical study of a shrouded Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. A wide range of test cases, were examined in order to predict the flow characteristics around the rotor, through the shroud and through the rotor – shroud arrangement using 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations. The power output of the shrouded rotor has been improved by a factor greater than 2.0. The detailed flow analysis results showed that there is a significant improvement in the performance of the wind turbine.


2012 ◽  
Vol 249-250 ◽  
pp. 517-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Long Lei ◽  
Jie Tao Wen ◽  
Xing Zhong Li ◽  
Cheng Yang

In order to evaluate the efficacy of grooves on cooling performance of wet clutch, a numerical analysis based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT is presented in this study. This analysis is based on the numerical solution of the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation, coupled with the energy equation in the flow and the heat conduction equations in the friction material and the core disk. The turbulence characteristics were predicted using RNGk-ε model. The flow field and temperature distributions in radial grooves are obtained. It is shown that radial grooves possess the highest heat exchange performance at the entrance and is not linear distribution in the radial direction and cooling oil flow has a little effect on the highest temperature of friction plate. With the developed analysis method, it is possible to easily and quickly investigate the heat transfer behaviour of wet cluth with groove patterns.


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