Modelling of vertical axis wind turbine using large eddy simulations

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation into the behaviour of a Savonius wind turbine using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The turbine was simulated for various Tip Speed Ratios (TSR) while calculating the predicted torque and power coefficients. The predicted torque and power coefficients were then compared with published data from wind tunnel testing. The results indicate that LES-based CFD simulations are a practical and reasonable approach for evaluating wind turbine performance. A validation study was conducted, and it was found that the accuracy was commensurate with data from the literature. This study demonstrates the potential of CFD simulations for optimizing wind turbine design.

Keywords

• Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT)
• Large eddy simulations (LES)
• Sliding mesh
• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
• Moving mesh