Experimental and numerical study of flow around a wind turbine rotor. (1st January 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dobrev, Ivan; Massouh, Fawaz; Memon, Asif
• Is Part Of: International journal of engineering systems modelling and simulation. Volume 5:Number 1/2/3(2013)
• Page Start: 137
• Page End: 146
• Publication Date: 2013-01-01
• Subjects: wind turbine -- wake -- particle image velocimetry -- PIV; Engineering systems -- Computer simulation -- Periodicals; Engineering systems -- Mathematical models -- Periodicals; 620.0042
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1755-9758

Abstract

An improved model of an actuator surface is proposed, representing the flow around a wind turbine. This model was developed in conjunction with a Navier-Stokes solver using a blade element method for the calculation of power and wake development. Blades have been replaced with thin surfaces, and a boundary condition of 'pressure discontinuity' has been applied with rotor inflow and blade-section characteristics. The proposed improvement consists of applying tangential body forces along the chord, in addition to normal body forces resulting from pressure discontinuity along the blade cross-section. The proposed model has been validated for the flow around a horizontal-axis wind turbine. The results obtained from the proposed model are compared with the experimental results obtained from PIV-wind tunnel techniques. The comparison has displayed the necessity of the proposed model for accurate reproduction of the wake behind rotor. The rapidity of calculation, in comparison to full-geometry modelling, appears to be promising for wind farm simulations.