Development and Validation of CFD 2D Models for the Simulation of Micro H-Darrieus Turbines Subjected to High Boundary Layer Instabilities

Rosario Lanzafame, Stefano Mauro, Michele Messina and Sebastian Brusca
Additional contact information
Rosario Lanzafame: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR), University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95125 Catania, Italy
Stefano Mauro: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR), University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95125 Catania, Italy
Michele Messina: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR), University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95125 Catania, Italy
Sebastian Brusca: Department of Engineering, University of Messina, Contrada Di Dio, 98166 Messina, Italy

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-23

Abstract: The simulation of very small vertical axis wind turbines is often a complex task due to the very low Reynolds number effects and the strong unsteadiness related to the rotor operation. Moreover, the high boundary layer instabilities, which affect these turbines, strongly limits their efficiency compared to micro horizontal axis wind turbines. However, as the scientific interest toward micro wind turbine power generation is growing for powering small stand-alone devices, Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs)might be very suitable for this kind of application as well. Furthermore, micro wind turbines are widely used for wind tunnel testing, as the wind tunnel dimensions are usually quite limited. In order to obtain a better comprehension of the fluid dynamics of such micro rotors, in the present paper the authors demonstrate how to develop an accurate CFD 2D model of a micro H-Darrieus wind turbine, inherently characterized by highly unstable operating conditions. The rotor was tested in the subsonic wind tunnel, owned by the University of Catania, in order to obtain the experimental validation of the numerical model. The modeling methodology was developed by means of an accurate grid and time step sensitivity study and by comparing different approaches for the turbulence closure. The hybrid LES/RANS Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation, coupled to a transition model, demonstrated superior accuracy compared to the most advanced unsteady RANS models. Therefore, the CFD 2D model developed in this work allowed for a thorough insight into the unstable fluid dynamic operating conditions of micro VAWTs, leading the way for the performance improvement of such rotors.

Keywords: CFD; Delayed DES; H-Darrieus; VAWT; micro wind power generation (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
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/21/5564/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/21/5564/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:21:p:5564-:d:433971

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().