A CFD analysis of the performance characteristics of different Darrieus turbine runners

Abstract

This paper presents the capabilities of analyzing different Darrieus wind turbine runners with the computer program Ansys Fluent. A K-omega turbulence model was used in the case of a two-dimensional flow with a suitable computational grid around the profile of the blades. The obtained theoretical performance characteristics were validated on test rig №7 (Wind Turbines) in the Laboratory of Hydropower and Hydraulic Turbomachinery (HEHT Lab) at the Technical University of Sofia. The data analysis shows that it’s possible to predict the performance characteristic and the optimum operating regime of the Darrieus wind turbine.