scholarly journals Numerical Study of the Dynamic Stall Effect on a Pair of Cross-Flow Hydrokinetic Turbines and Associated Torque Enhancement due to Flow Blockage

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 829
Author(s):  
Minh N. Doan ◽  
Shinnosuke Obi

An open-source 2D Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulation model was presented and applied for a laboratory-scaled cross-flow hydrokinetic turbine and a twin turbine system in counter-rotating configurations. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was compared with previously published experimental results and then used to study the turbine power output and relevant flow fields at four blockage ratios. The dynamic stall effect and related leading edge vortex (LEV) structures were observed, discussed, and correlated with the power output. The results provided insights into the blockage effect from a different perspective: The physics behind the production and maintenance of lift on the turbine blade at different blockage ratios. The model was then applied to counter-rotating configurations of the turbines and similar analyses of the torque production and maintenance were conducted. Depending on the direction of movement of the other turbine, the blade of interest could either produce higher torque or create more energy loss. For both of the scenarios where a blade interacted with the channel wall or another blade, the key behind torque enhancement was forcing the flow through its suction side and manipulating the LEV.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minh Doan ◽  
Yuriko Kai ◽  
Takuya Kawata ◽  
Ivan Alayeto ◽  
Shinnosuke Obi

Abstract In 2011, John Dabiri proposed the use of counter-rotating vertical-axis wind turbines to achieve enhanced power output per unit area of a wind farm. Since then, various studies in the wind energy and marine hydrokinetic (MHK) literature have been dedicated to pairs of vertical axis turbines in both co-rotating and counter-rotating configurations, in terms of their power production, wake characterization, and optimal array design. Previous experimental works suggest an enhancement of up to 27.9% in the system power coefficient of pair configurations compared to a single turbine. Additionally, previous numerical studies have indicated that the increased power output is correlated with higher torque on the turbine blades which correspondingly produces a stronger leading edge vortex. This paper presents an extended investigation into a pair of laboratory scaled cross-flow hydrokinetic turbines in counter-rotating configurations. Experiments were conducted to observe, compare, and discuss the leading edge vortex shedding from the turbine blades during their positive torque phase. The turbines operated in a small water flume at the diameter-based Reynolds number of 22,000 with a 0.316 m/s freestream velocity and 4% turbulent intensity. Using a monoscopic particle image velocimetry setup, multiple realizations of the water flow around each blade at their positive torque phase were recorded and phase-averaged. Results show consistent leading vortex shedding at these turbine angles while a correlation between the turbine power performance and the vortex size and strength was observed.


Author(s):  
Zhenyu Wang ◽  
Mei Zhuang

Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are a promising solution for the use of renewable energy in residential areas. Compared to traditional horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs), VAWTs are usually smaller, quieter, and insensitive to the wind direction and can be installed in a wide range of urban, suburban and rural places such as top of buildings, backyard, etc. In addition, VAWTs require a lower wind speed to self-start which increases the capability of wind energy extraction in the areas with low wind speed. However, VAWTs are less efficient and the power output of VAWTs is substantially affected by the phenomenon of dynamic stall induced by the variations of angle of attack of rotating blades, especially at low tip speed ratios (λTSR<4). When the dynamic stall vortices, formed near the leading-edge, are transported downstream, it creates large and sudden fluctuations in torques. At low values of the tip speed ratio and relatively low Reynolds number (Re<105), dynamic stall occurs periodically throughout the rotation of the blades. This results a sharp drop in lift coefficient and therefore rotor torque and power output are substantially reduced. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the prospects for improving the flow performances of small VAWTs using serrated leading-edge configurations on straight blades in a conventional H-type VAWT design to control dynamic flow separation. A numerical study is carried out to obtain the detailed flow fields for analysis and visualization. The results show that the turbine blade with the serration profiles of h = 0.025c (amplitude) and λs = 0.33c (wavelength) not only increased the power generation at low TSRs, but also enhanced the capability of wind energy extraction at the optimum TSR in comparison to the baseline model. The dynamic stall was suppressed significantly in the range of the azimuth angle from 80° to 160°. The flow separation induced by large angles of attack was essentially alleviated in the modified turbine model due to the serrated configuration implemented on the blade leading-edge.


Author(s):  
Jorge Torres ◽  
Husam Zawati ◽  
Erik Fernandez ◽  
Jayanta Kapat ◽  
Jose Rodriguez

Abstract Aerothermal performance of an asymmetrical-profile, leading-edge jet impingement array is studied using numerical and experimental techniques. This array consists of a single row of 9 jets impinging on a leading edge of diameter ratio D/d = 2, and a distinct suction side/pressure side akin to that of an actual turbine blade. Two different jet-to-target heights are tested, while the jet spacing of 4 jet diameters is kept constant. A range of jet-averaged Reynolds numbers between 20k – 80k are tested. The mean flow field of the mid-jet plane is quantified experimentally, through a non-intrusive experimental method of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), while area-averaged heat transfer is measured by the constant temperature copper block technique. The target surface is divided into several copper blocks to investigate the area-averaged heat transfer at each jet. The numerical portion of the presented work serves to investigate the fidelity of the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) k-ω turbulence model and how well it can predict the flow field within the geometrical domain of the leading edge.


Author(s):  
A. Abdi ◽  
M. Tadjfar ◽  
M. Bayati

A numerical study of separation control has been made to investigate aerodynamic characteristics of a NACA0012 airfoil with a tangential synthetic jet. Simulations are carried out at the chord Reynolds number of Re=1,000,000. The present approach relies on solving the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations. The turbulence model used in the present computation is the K-ω SST equations. All computations are performed with a finite volume based code. We have varied the synthetic jet position on the suction side of the airfoil at various locations from 4% of the chord all the way up to 60% of the airfoil chord. The jet oscillating frequency of fj = 15 Hz, (which corresponds to the non-dimensional oscillating frequency of Fjet+ = 1 when the jet is placed at the 12% chord location), and the blowing ratio of Vj/U∞ = 2 are used during the control cycle. All the cases considered here are for the airfoil at the constant angle of attack of α = 19°, where the airfoil stalls in the uncontrolled base flow. We found that stall characteristics are significantly improved by controlling the formation of separation vortices in the flow. The airfoil lift is more than doubled by placing the tangential synthetic jet anywhere between 20% chord to 50% chord location. This corresponds to a 25% improvement over the best cases reported by Chapin and Benard (2015) for a cross flow synthetic jet.


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.


Author(s):  
Amr Abdelrahman ◽  
Amr Emam ◽  
Ihab Adam ◽  
Hamdy Hassan ◽  
Shinichi Ookawara ◽  
...  

Abstract Through the last two decades, many studies have demonstrated the ability of leading-edge protrusions (tubercles), inspired from the pectoral flippers of the humpback whale, to be an effective passive flow control method for the stall phase of an airfoil in some cases depending on the geometrical features and the flow regime. Nevertheless, there is a little work associated with revealing tubercles performance for the lifting surfaces with a highly cambered cross-section, used in numerous applications. The present work aims to investigate the effect of implementing leading edge tubercles on the performance of an infinite span rectangular wing with the highly cambered S1223 foil at different flow regimes. Two sets; baseline one and a modified with tubercles have been studied at Re = 0.1 × 106, 0.3 × 106 and 1.5 × 106 using computational fluid dynamics with a validated model. The numerical results demonstrated that Tubercles have the ability to entirely alter the flow structure over the airfoil, confining the separation to troughs, hence, softening the stall characteristics. However, the tubercle modification expedites the presence of the stalled flow over the suction side, lowering the stall angle for the three mentioned Reynolds numbers. While, no considerable difference occurs in lift and drag before the stall.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Rakibuzzaman ◽  
Hyoung-Ho Kim ◽  
Kyungwuk Kim ◽  
Sang-Ho Suh ◽  
Kyung Kim

Effective hydraulic turbine design prevents sediment and cavitation erosion from impacting the performance and reliability of the machine. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, this study investigated the performance characteristics of sediment and cavitation erosion on a hydraulic Francis turbine by ANSYS-CFX software. For the erosion rate calculation, the particle trajectory Tabakoff–Grant erosion model was used. To predict the cavitation characteristics, the study’s source term for interphase mass transfer was the Rayleigh–Plesset cavitation model. The experimental data acquired by this study were used to validate the existing evaluations of the Francis turbine. Hydraulic results revealed that the maximum difference was only 0.958% compared with the CFD data, and 0.547% compared with the experiment (Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM)). The turbine blade region was affected by the erosion rate at the trailing edge because of their high velocity. Furthermore, in the cavitation–erosion simulation, it was observed that abrasion propagation began from the pressure side of the leading edge and continued along to the trailing edge of the runner. Additionally, as sediment flow rates grew within the area of the attached cavitation, they increased from the trailing edge at the suction side, and efficiency was reduced. Cavitation–sand erosion results then revealed a higher erosion rate than of those of the sand erosion condition.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Wang ◽  
Qijun Zhao

To study the three-dimensional effects on the dynamic-stall characteristics of a rotor blade, the unsteady flowfields of the finite wing and rotor were simulated under dynamic-stall conditions, respectively. Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations coupled with a third-order Roe–MUSCL spatial discretization scheme were chosen as the governing equations to predict the three-dimensional flowfields. It is indicated from the simulated results of a finite wing that dynamic stall would be restricted near the wing tip due to the influence of the wing-tip vortex. By comparing the simulated results of the finite wing with the spanwise flow, it is indicated that the spanwise flow would arouse vortex accumulation. Consequently, the dynamic stall is restricted near the wing root and aggravated near the wing tip. By comparing the simulated results of a rotor in forward flight, it is indicated that the dynamic stall of the rotor would be inhibited due to the effects of the spanwise flow and Coriolis force. This work fills the gap regarding the insufficient three-dimensional dynamic stall of a helicopter rotor, and could be used to guide rotor airfoil shape design in the future.


2011 ◽  
Vol 383-390 ◽  
pp. 4221-4226
Author(s):  
Song Ling Wang ◽  
Zhe Liu ◽  
Lei Zhang

It’s of great significance for safe and reliable operation of fan to research on the stall characteristics of the airfoil. The 2D non-compressible Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations was built to simulate the flow around the airfoil of G4-73No.8D centrifugal fan, a detailed numerical simulation under different angles has been carried out which based on the Realizable turbulence model with Fluent. The numerical results show that the smaller of the flow rate, the bigger incidence angle is, when the incidence angle is bigger than the critical incidence angle, the suction side stall appears. According simulation the airfoil stall appears when the incidence angle is -28°, with the increasing of the negative incidence angle, the separation point gradually moves to the leading edge. There is a strong vortex which locates at suction side =0.5,the alternating stress on the blade which caused by vortex will make the blade fatigue. If the incidence angle is less than -20°,there is no flow separation, therefore, to ensure the safe operation of the fan, the incidence angle should be less than -20°.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document