CFD analysis on the influence of angle of attack on vertical axis wind turbine aerodynamics

The Angle of Attack (AOA) in a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) plays an important role in determining the forces and the power generated by the wind turbine. It is difficult to find the suitable AOA due to the complex and constantly changing wind flow patterns. In this paper, we have performed CFD simulations using Ansys Fluent software, based on the constantly changing AOA. The CFD simulations were conducted by selecting a suitable range of AOA and the velocity of the wind. The selected range of AOA varied from 5 degrees to 25 degrees with increments of 5 degrees and the range of the air velocities varied from 7m/s to 21m/s with increments of 7m/s. The tests were also performed using the X-Foil software. The results obtained from the CFD simulations, done by using the Ansys Fluent Software and from the X-Foil software, were then compared to give a more accurate and optimized AOA and velocity value. This optimization of the AOA could enhance the overall performance of the Vertical Axis Wind turbine.

Special Issue on Wind Turbine Aerodynamics II

To alleviate global warming and reduce air pollution, the world needs to rapidly shift towards renewable energy [...]

A multi-purpose lifting-line flow solver for arbitrary wind energy concepts

In this work, we extend the AeroDyn module of OpenFAST to be able to support arbitrary collections of wings, rotors and towers. The new standalone AeroDyn driver supports arbitrary motions of the lifting-surfaces and complex turbulent inflows. We describe the features and updates necessary for the implementation of the new AeroDyn driver. We present different case studies of the driver to illustrate its application to concepts such as: multi-rotors, kites, or vertical axis wind turbines. We perform verification and validation of some of the new features using the following test cases: an elliptical wing, a horizontal axis wind turbine, and a 2D and 3D vertical axis wind turbines. The wind turbine simulations are compared to field measurements. We use this opportunity to point out some limitations of current models and highlight areas which we think should be the focus of future research in wind turbine aerodynamics.

A CFD Study for Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Aerodynamics in Turbulent Wind Field

The present study is aimed at investigating the turbulent wind effect on FOWT through the usage of a high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. This method is believed to resolve the wind field, giving us a more in-depth examination into the aerodynamics of FOWT. The work is built upon our previous studies on the modelling of a coupled aero-hydro-mooring FOWT system under regular wave and uniform wind. In the present study, we replaced the previously uniform wind with a temporal and spatial variable turbulent wind field using a time-varying spectrum. The turbulent wind is generated with Mann’s wind turbulence model while the Von Karman wind spectrum is used to represent wind turbulence. The present study shows that when turbulent wind is present, there may be fluctuations of the rotor thrust and power outputs, causing the non-uniform wake region. Despite this, both the dynamic motions and the mooring tensions of the floater are not significantly influenced by the wind turbulence under the present inflow wind conditions.

Influence of the Solidity Ratio on the Small Wind Turbine Aerodynamics

Increasing popularity of individualised electricity generation from wind by prosumers creates a strong demand for profitable and highly efficient small wind turbines. This paper investigates the influence of rotor blade solidity parameter on device efficiency in hope of determining its optimal value as a part of the development process of the GUST small wind turbine. The study involved experimental analysis in the wind tunnel and numerical simulations performed in QBlade software. Different solidities of the rotor were achieved by alteration of (1) number of blades and (2) chord distribution along the blade span. The increase of rotor solidity resulted in augmentation of the aerodynamic efficiency in both approaches. The elongation of the chord by 33% in a 3-bladed rotor resulted in a bigger power coefficient increment than addition of a 4th blade with original chord distribution. Even though the solidity was the same, the 3-bladed rotor performed better, possibly due to lower form drag. The results emphasize the importance of the rotor solidity optimization during the small wind turbine rotor development and may significantly influence overall power output.