Simulations of the Fluid Flow around a Rotating Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Abstract

Numerical simulations of the fluid flow around a small rotating vertical axis wind turbine are performed using a time accurate Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) solver. A moving mesh technique is applied for the simulation of the rotating wind turbine. The RANS equations are then formulated in ALE. All computations are performed assuming 2D incompressible fully turbulent flow. Turbulence is modelled by the SST k/ω model of Menter. Blade forces and torque are obtained from the solution of the RANS equations by integrating the pressure and shear stress over the blade surface. The expected wind turbine output is determined at given rotational speeds. The resulting power coefficients are compared to that obtained by applying a multiple stream tube theory.