In this paper we numerically investigate the possibilities to control the dynamic stall phenomenon, with application to vertical axis wind turbines. The dynamic stall appears at low tip speed ratio (TSR<4) and it has a great impact on structural integrity of the wind turbine and power performances. For this reason we performed a CFD 2D analysis of the dynamic stall phenomenon around NACA 0012 airfoil equipped with a passive flow control device, in pitching motion at relative low Reynolds number (∼105). Three passive flow control devices are numerically investigated: a turbulence promoter mounted on the leading edge, a thin channel and a step on the upper surface of the airfoil. For the present studies, the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model is the suitable approach to perform the dynamic stall simulations with an acceptable computational cost and reasonable accuracy. The results are compared to those of an existing experimental case test for unmodified NACA 0012 airfoil. The capability of this device was investigated numerically on a vertical axis wind turbine (2D model), where blades are generated with NACA 0018 airfoil.
Numerical investigations of passive flow control elements for vertical axis wind turbine
10TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS IN ENGINEERING, AEROSPACE AND SCIENCES: ICNPAA 2014 ; 2014 ; Narvik, Norway
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 1637 , 1 ; 331-340
2014-12-10
10 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English