Implementation of the "Virtual Camber" Transformation into the Open Source Software QBlade: Validation and Assessment. (August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bianchini, Alessandro; Marten, David; Tonini, Andrea; Balduzzi, Francesco; Nayeri, Christian Navid; Ferrara, Giovanni; Paschereit, Christian Oliver
• Is Part Of: Energy procedia. Volume 148(2018)
• Page Start: 210
• Page End: 217
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Subjects: Darrieus -- wind turbine -- virtual camber -- lifting-line -- CFD -- simulation; Power resources -- Congresses; Power resources -- Periodicals; Power resources; Conference proceedings; Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2018.08.070
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1876-6102

Abstract

Abstract: Thanks to the renewed interest in vertical-axis wind turbines, research efforts are devoted at improving the accuracy of present simulation tools, many of which are underdeveloped if compared to those for horizontal-axis turbines. In particular, recent studies demonstrated that a correction for the "virtual camber" effect has a major impact on the simulation. In cycloidal motion indeed the blade aerodynamics are equivalent to those of a virtually-transformed airfoil with a camber line defined by its arc of rotation. In this study, the implementation of a specific module to account for the virtual camber effect in the Open-Source code QBlade is presented. The effectiveness of the model is then validated by four 1-blade and a full 3-blade H-Darrieus turbines, for which both experimental measurements and detailed CFD calculations were available. A sensitivity analysis on the impact of the virtual camber correction on the accuracy of a low-order simulation model has been carried out as a function of the chord-to-radius ratio and the airfoil thickness-to-chord ratio. Reference thresholds for the model applicability are presented for both variables.