scholarly journals Computational Investigation of a Wind Turbine Shrouded with a Circular Ring

CFD letters ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 40-51
Author(s):  
Mohamed Takey ◽  
Tholudin Mat Lazim ◽  
Iskandar Shah Ishak ◽  
N.A.R Nik Mohd ◽  
Norazila Othman

In this research work, a new design concept for shrouded turbines is introduced using a circular flange ring instead of a diffuser. The performance of a wind turbine shrouded with the conventional configuration of flanged diffusers is firstly investigated. This allows comparison to be made with the performance of the new design proposed in this project. The bare turbine used in this research work is a horizontal axis wind turbine with a diameter of 0.6 m, and the flange height is 10% of the diameter. The performance of the shrouded turbine is investigated using computational fluid dynamics; by solving the flow field using three-dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes for incompressible flow. Findings indicate that the performance of the turbine shrouded with the flange ring is superior to the bare turbine by 33%. It also has benefit over the conventional design as this new design concept is simpler and uses lesser material since it is not using the diffuser, which favorably in turn will reduce the cost. Subsequently, the findings of this research may have the potential to expedite the developments of green-source energy that undoubtedly could benefit the entire growing wind turbine industry.

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Horb ◽  
R Fuchs ◽  
A Immas ◽  
F Silvert ◽  
P Deglaire

NENUPHAR aims at developing the next generation of large-scale floating offshore vertical-axis wind turbine. To challenge the horizontal-axis wind turbine, the variable blade pitch control appears to be a promising solution. This article focuses on blade pitch law optimization and resulting power and thrust gain depending on the operational conditions. The aerodynamics resulting from the implementation of a variable blade pitch control are studied through numerical simulations, either with a three-dimensional vortex code or with two-dimensional Navier-stokes simulations (two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics). Results showed that the three-dimensional vortex code used as quasi-two-dimensional succeeded to give aerodynamic loads in very good agreement with two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation results. The three-dimensional-vortex code was then used in three-dimensional configuration, highlighting that the variable pitch can enhance the vertical-axis wind turbine power coefficient ( Cp) by more than 15% in maximum power point tracking mode and decrease it by more than 75% in power limitation mode while keeping the thrust below its rated value.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 168781401987831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed G Khalafallah ◽  
Abdelnaby M Ahmed ◽  
Mohamed K Emam

One of the recent methods to improve the performance of horizontal axis wind turbine is to attach a winglet at the tip of the blade of these turbines. Winglets reduce the effect of vortex flow at the blade tip and thus improve the performance of the blade. This article presents a parametric study using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to investigate the capability of a winglet to increase the turbine power of swept blades as well as straight blades of a horizontal axis wind turbine. The effects of winglet direction, cant angle, and twist angle are studied for two winglet orientations: upstream and downstream directions. The numerical simulation was performed using ANSYS Fluent computational fluid dynamics code. A three-dimensional computational domain, cylindrical rotationally periodic, was used in the computations. The k-ω shear-stress transport turbulence model was adopted to demonstrate turbulence in the flow. Results show that horizontal axis wind turbine with winglet and sweep could enhance more power compared to their equivalent straight or swept blade. The best improvement in the coefficient of power is 4.39% at design tip speed ratio. This is achieved for downstream swept blades with winglets pointing in the upstream direction and having cant and twist angles of 40° and 10°, respectively.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassam Nasarullah Chaudhry ◽  
John Kaiser Calautit ◽  
Ben Richard Hughes

The effect of wind distribution on the architectural domain of the Bahrain Trade Centre was numerically analysed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Using the numerical data, the power generation potential of the building-integrated wind turbines was determined in response to the prevailing wind direction. The three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations along with the momentum and continuity equations were solved for obtaining the velocity and pressure field. Simulating a reference wind speed of 6 m/s, the findings from the study quantified an estimate power generation of 6.4 kW indicating a capacity factor of 2.9% for the benchmark model. At the windward side of the building, it was observed that the layers of turbulence intensified in inverse proportion to the height of the building with an average value of 0.45 J/kg. The air velocity was found to gradually increase in direct proportion to the elevation with the turbine located at higher altitude receiving maximum exposure to incoming wind. This work highlighted the potential of using advanced computational fluid dynamics in order to factor wind into the design of any architectural environment.


Author(s):  
Zhigang Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Liming Song ◽  
Qing Gao ◽  
Xin Yan ◽  
...  

The modern gas turbine is widely applied in the aviation propulsion and power generation. The rim seal is usually designed at the periphery of the wheel-space and prevented the hot gas ingestion in modern gas turbines. The high sealing effectiveness of rim seal can improve the aerodynamic performance of gas turbines and avoid of the disc overheating. Effect of outer fin axial gap of radial rim seal on the sealing effectiveness and fluid dynamics was numerically investigated in this work. The sealing effectiveness and fluid dynamics of radial rim seal with three different outer fin axial gaps was conducted at different coolant flow rates using three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and SST turbulent model solutions. The accuracy of the presented numerical approach for the prediction of the sealing performance of the turbine rim seal was demonstrated. The obtained results show that the sealing effectiveness of radial rim seal increases with increase of coolant flow rate at the fixed axial outer fin gap. The sealing effectiveness increases with decrease of the axial outer fin gap at the fixed coolant flow rate. Furthermore, at the fixed coolant flow rate, the hot gas ingestion increases with the increase of the axial outer fin gap. This flow behavior intensifies the interaction between the hot gas and coolant flow at the clearance of radial rim seal. The preswirl coefficient in the wheel-space cavity is also illustrated to analyze the flow dynamics of radial rim seal at different axial outer fin gaps.


Author(s):  
Francesco Balduzzi ◽  
Alessandro Bianchini ◽  
Giovanni Ferrara ◽  
David Marten ◽  
George Pechlivanoglou ◽  
...  

Due to the rapid progress in high-performance computing and the availability of increasingly large computational resources, Navier-Stokes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) now offers a cost-effective, versatile and accurate means to improve the understanding of the unsteady aerodynamics of Darrieus wind turbines and deliver more efficient designs. In particular, the possibility of determining a fully resolved flow field past the blades by means of CFD offers the opportunity to both further understand the physics underlying the turbine fluid dynamics and to use this knowledge to validate lower-order models, which can have a wider diffusion in the wind energy sector, particularly for industrial use, in the light of their lower computational burden. In this context, highly spatially and temporally refined time-dependent three-dimensional Navier-Stokes simulations were carried out using more than 16,000 processor cores per simulation on an IBM BG/Q cluster in order to investigate thoroughly the three-dimensional unsteady aerodynamics of a single blade in Darrieus-like motion. Particular attention was payed to tip losses, dynamic stall, and blade/wake interaction. CFD results are compared with those obtained with an open-source code based on the Lifting Line Free Vortex Wake Model (LLFVW). At present, this approach is the most refined method among the “lower-fidelity” models and, as the wake is explicitly resolved in contrast to BEM-based methods, LLFVW analyses provide three-dimensional flow solutions. Extended comparisons between the two approaches are presented and a critical analysis is carried out to identify the benefits and drawbacks of the two approaches.


Author(s):  
Francesco Balduzzi ◽  
David Marten ◽  
Alessandro Bianchini ◽  
Jernej Drofelnik ◽  
Lorenzo Ferrari ◽  
...  

Due to the rapid progress in high-performance computing and the availability of increasingly large computational resources, Navier–Stokes (NS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) now offers a cost-effective, versatile, and accurate means to improve the understanding of the unsteady aerodynamics of Darrieus wind turbines and deliver more efficient designs. In particular, the possibility of determining a fully resolved flow field past the blades by means of CFD offers the opportunity to both further understand the physics underlying the turbine fluid dynamics and to use this knowledge to validate lower-order models, which can have a wider diffusion in the wind energy sector, particularly for industrial use, in the light of their lower computational burden. In this context, highly spatially and temporally refined time-dependent three-dimensional (3D) NS simulations were carried out using more than 16,000 processor cores per simulation on an IBM BG/Q cluster in order to investigate thoroughly the 3D unsteady aerodynamics of a single blade in Darrieus-like motion. Particular attention was paid to tip losses, dynamic stall, and blade/wake interaction. CFD results are compared with those obtained with an open-source code based on the lifting line free vortex wake model (LLFVW). At present, this approach is the most refined method among the “lower-fidelity” models, and as the wake is explicitly resolved in contrast to blade element momentum (BEM)-based methods, LLFVW analyses provide 3D flow solutions. Extended comparisons between the two approaches are presented and a critical analysis is carried out to identify the benefits and drawbacks of the two approaches.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Zubair ◽  
Vizy Nazira Riazuddin ◽  
Mohammed Zulkifly Abdullah ◽  
Rushdan Ismail ◽  
Ibrahim Lutfi Shuaib ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: It is of clinical importance to examine the nasal cavity pre-operatively on surgical treatments. However, there is no simple and easy way to measure airflow in the nasal cavity. Objectives: Visualize the flow features inside the nasal cavity using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, and study the effect of different breathing rates on nasal function. Method: A three-dimensional nasal cavity model was reconstructed based on computed tomographic images of a healthy Malaysian adult nose. Navier-Stokes and continuity equations for steady airflow were solved numerically to examine the inspiratory nasal flow. Results: The flow resistance obtained varied from 0.026 to 0.124 Pa.s/mL at flow-rate from 7.5 L/min to 40 L/min. Flow rates by breathing had significant influence on airflow velocity and wall shear-stress in the vestibule and nasal valve region. Conclusion: Airflow simulations based on CFD is most useful for better understanding of flow phenomenon inside the nasal cavity.


Author(s):  
Hagninou E. V. Donnou ◽  
Drissa Boro ◽  
Jean Noé Fabiyi ◽  
Marius Tovoeho ◽  
Aristide B. Akpo

In the present work, the study and design of a horizontal axis wind turbine suitable for the Cotonou site were investigated on the coast of Benin. A statistical study using the Weibull distribution was carried out on the hourly wind data measured at 10 m from the ground by the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) over the period from January 1981 to December 2014. Then, the models, techniques, tools and approaches used to design horizontal axis wind turbines were presented and the wind turbine components characteristics were determined. The numerical design and assembly of these components were carried out using SolidWorks software. The results revealed that the designed wind turbine has a power of 571W. It is equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous generator and has three aluminum blades with NACA 4412 biconvex asymmetrical profile. The values obtained for the optimum coefficient of lift and drag are estimated at 1.196 and 0.0189 respectively. The blades are characterised by an attack optimum angle estimated at 6° and the wedge angle at 5°. Their length is 2.50 m and the maximum thickness is estimated at 0.032 m for a rope length of 0.27 m. The wind turbine efficiency is 44%. The computer program designed on SolidWorks gives three-dimensional views of the geometrical shape of the wind turbine components and their assembly has allowed to visualize the compact shape of the wind turbine after export via its graphical interface. The energy quantity that can be obtained from the wind turbine was estimated at 2712,718 kWh/year. This wind turbine design study is the first of its kind for the study area. In order to reduce the technological dependence and the import of wind energy systems, the results of this study could be used to produce lower cost wind energy available on our study site.


Author(s):  
M. Sergio Campobasso ◽  
Mohammad H. Baba-Ahmadi

This paper presents the numerical models underlying the implementation of a novel harmonic balance compressible Navier-Stokes solver with low-speed preconditioning for wind turbine unsteady aerodynamics. The numerical integration of the harmonic balance equations is based on a multigrid iteration, and, for the first time, a numerical instability associated with the use of such an explicit approach in this context is discussed and resolved. The harmonic balance solver with low-speed preconditioning is well suited for the analyses of several unsteady periodic low-speed flows, such as those encountered in horizontal axis wind turbines. The computational performance and the accuracy of the technology being developed are assessed by computing the flow field past two sections of a wind turbine blade in yawed wind with both the time- and frequency-domain solvers. Results highlight that the harmonic balance solver can compute these periodic flows more than 10 times faster than its time-domain counterpart, and with an accuracy comparable to that of the time-domain solver.


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