A Fast Two-Dimensional Numerical Method for the Wake Simulation of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Zheng Yuan, Jin Jiang, Jun Zang, Qihu Sheng, Ke Sun, Xuewei Zhang and Renwei Ji
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Zheng Yuan: College of Shipbuilding Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Jin Jiang: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jinling Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211169, China
Jun Zang: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
Qihu Sheng: College of Shipbuilding Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Ke Sun: College of Shipbuilding Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Xuewei Zhang: College of Shipbuilding Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Renwei Ji: College of Shipbuilding Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: In the array design of the vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT), the wake effect of the upstream VAWT on the downstream VAWT needs to be considered. In order to simulate the velocity distribution of a VAWT wake rapidly, a new two-dimensional numerical method is proposed, which can make the array design easier and faster. In this new approach, the finite vortex method and vortex particle method are combined to simulate the generation and evolution of the vortex, respectively, the fast multipole method (FMM) is used to accelerate the calculation. Based on a characteristic of the VAWT wake, that is, the velocity distribution can be fitted into a power-law function, a new correction model is introduced to correct the three-dimensional effect of the VAWT wake. Finally, the simulation results can be approximated to the published experimental results in the first-order. As a new numerical method to simulate the complex VAWT wake, this paper proves the feasibility of the method and makes a preliminary validation. This method is not used to simulate the complex three-dimensional turbulent evolution but to simulate the velocity distribution quickly and relatively accurately, which meets the requirement for rapid simulation in the preliminary array design.

Keywords: vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT); two-dimensional wake simulation; finite vortex method; vortex particle method; three-dimensional effect correction model of the wake (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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