Abstract
Unsteady turbulent flow characteristics over a two-blade horizontal wind turbine rotor is analyzed using a large-eddy simulation technique. The wind turbine rotor corresponds to the configuration of the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) phase VI campaign. The filtered incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in a non-inertial reference frame fixed at the centroid of the rotor, are solved with centrifugal and Coriolis forces using an unstructured-grid finite-volume method. A systematic analysis of effects of grid resolution, computational domain size, and time-step size on simulation results, is carried out. Simulation results such as the surface pressure coefficient, thrust coefficient, torque coefficient, and normal and tangential force coefficients are found to agree favorably with experimental data. The simulation showed that pressure fluctuations, which produce broadband flow-induced noise and vibration of the blades, are especially significant in the mid-chord area of the suction side at around 70 to 95 percent spanwise locations. Large-scale vortices are found to be generated at the blade tip and the location connecting the blade with an airfoil cross section and the circular hub rod. These vortices propagate downstream with helical motions and are found to persist far downstream from the rotor.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
C. A. Walford, Wind turbine reliability: understanding and minimizing wind turbine operation and maintenance costs, Report 2006-1100, Sandia (2006).
U.S. Department of Energy, Annual report on U.S. wind power installation, cost, and performance trends: 2006. Tech. Rep., U.S. Department of Energy (2006).
A. L. Rogers and J. F. Manwell, Wind turbine noise issues, White Paper, Renewable Energy Research Laboratory, Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2004).
S. A. Huyer, D. A. Simms and M. C. Robinson, Unsteady aerodynamics associated with a horizontal-axis wind turbine, AIAA Journal, 34 (1996) 1410–1419.
G. Xu and L. N. Sankar, Effects of transition, turbulence and yaw on the performance of horizontal axis wind turbines, Tech. Rep. AIAA Paper 2000-0048, AIAA (2000).
S. Benjanirat, L. N. Sankar and G. Xu, Evaluation of turbulence models for the prediction of wind turbine aerodynamics, Tech. Rep. AIAA Paper 2003-0517, AIAA (2003).
N. N. Sorensen, J. A. Michelsen and S. Schreck, Prediction of the NREL/NASA Ames wind tunnel test, Tech. Rep. AIAA Paper 2002-0031, AIAA (2002).
X. P. N. Duque, M. D. Burklund and W. Johnson, Navierstokes and comprehensive analysis performance predictions of the NREL phase VI experiment, Tech. Rep. AIAA Paper 2003-0355, AIAA (2003).
H. A. Madsen, N. N. Sorensen and S. Schreck, Yaw aerodynamics analyzed with three codes in comparison with experiment, Tech. Rep. AIAA Paper 2003-0519, AIAA (2003).
L. W. Carr and W. J. McCroskey, A review of recent advances in computational and experimental analysis of dynamic stall, International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Symposium on Fluid Dynamics of High Angle of Attack, Tokyo, Japan (1992).
D. You, F. Ham and P. Moin, Discrete conservation principles in large-eddy simulation with application to separation control over an airfoil, Physics of Fluids, 20 (2008) 101515.
M. Hand et al., Unsteady aerodynamics experiment phase VI: wind tunnel test configurations and available data campaigns, NREL/TP 500-29955, NREL (2001).
A. Tadamasa and M. Zangeneh, Numerical prediction of wind turbine noise, Renewable Energy, 36 (2011) 1902–1912.
D. A. Simms, M. M. Hand, L. J. Fingersh and D. W. Jager, Unsteady aerodynamics experiments phases II-IV test configurations and available data campaigns, Technical Report BREL/TP-500-25950, NREL (1999).
E. P. N. Duque, C. P. van Dam and S. Hughes, Navierstokes simulations of the NREL combined experiment phase II rotor, Tech. Rep. AIAA Paper 99-0037, AIAA (1999).
P. Giguere and M. S. Selig, Design of a tapered and twisted blade for the NREL combined experiment rotor, NREL/SR 500-26173, NREL (1999).
D. You and P. Moin, A dynamic global-coefficient subgridscale eddy-viscosity model for large-eddy simulation in complex geometries, Physics of Fluids, 19 (2007) 065110.
J. Jeong and F. Hussain, On the identification of a vortex, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 285 (1995) 69–94.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Recommended by Associate Editor Jungil Lee
Taeyoung Kim received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2011. He is now a doctoral candidate in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.
Donghyun You received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 2004. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kim, T., You, D. Large-eddy simulation analysis of turbulent flow over a two-blade horizontal wind turbine rotor. J Mech Sci Technol 30, 4989–4996 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-016-1018-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-016-1018-4