Performance Study of Darrieus Turbine Using Numerical Simulation

In this study, CFD abilities to handle Darrieus turbine simulation were assessed and validated in light of related experimental and numerical studies. Simulation methodology is based on two-dimensional modeling of a double NACA 0018 bladed, straight blade Darrieus turbine. Modeling approach, meshing procedure, and solution parameters are mentioned and discussed in details. ANSYS fluent 18.2 is used to carry out all simulations. Experimental test’s data from literature [11] are implemented in context of results verification, also, Courant number and y plus analyses were provided. Due to the simplified assumptions inherent in 2D modeling approximation, n, a discrepancy of results overestimation was noticed, however the trend of numerical results is close to the experimental one. The aim of this study is to discover the ability of 2D simulation to handle Darrieus turbine power production expectation, and its behavior in case of pair of turbines with a close proximity. CFD results were affected with problem’s physics, such that better numerical results were achieved comparing to the experimental results at higher TSR region, where dynamic stall effect is less significant. In this study, we investigated also the possibility of power augmentation for a pair of Darrieus turbines in close proximity. Numerical results have showed enhancements on the average power coefficient of pair of turbines at TSR of 3.5, however, a limited decrease in power coefficient of pair configurations was detected at lower TSRs region.