Abstract
Passive flow control devices are included in the design of wind turbine blades in order to obtain better performance and reduce loads without consuming any external energy. Vortex Generators are one of the most popular flow control devices, whose main objective is to delay the flow separation and increase the maximum lift coefficient. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of a Vortex Generator (VG) on a flat plate in negligible streamwise pressure gradient conditions with the fully-resolved mesh model and the cell-set model using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) were carried out, with the objective of evaluating the accuracy of the cell-set model taking the fully-resolved mesh model as benchmark. The implementation of the cell-set model entailed a considerable reduction of the number of cells, which entailed saving simulation time and resources. The coherent structures, vortex path, wall shear stress and size, strength and velocity profiles of the primary vortex have been analyzed. The results show good agreements between the fully-resolved mesh model and the cell-set mode with RANS in all the analyzed parameters. With LES, acceptable results were obtained in terms of coherent structures, vortex path and wall shear stress, but slight differences between models are visible in the size, strength and velocity profiles of the primary vortex. As this is considered the first application of the cell-set model on VGs, further research is proposed, since the implementation of the cell-set model can represent an advantage over the fully-resolved mesh model.
Highlights
Wind energy has become a key source of electricity generation for the change to a cleaner and sustainable energy model
The vortexes generated by a vane-type Vortex Generator (VG) on a flat plate are analyzed with the objective of comparing the results obtained with the fully-resolved mesh model and the cell-set model
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of a single VG on a flat plate in negligible streamwise pressure gradient conditions were performed with the fully-resolved mesh model and the cell-set model using Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence models
Summary
Wind energy has become a key source of electricity generation for the change to a cleaner and sustainable energy model. Aramendia et al [1] and Aramendia-Iradi et al [2] thoroughly reviewed both active and passive flow control devices Among these two types of devices, passive devices can be highlighted, since they improve performance of wind turbine blades without consuming any external energy. Vortex Generators (VGs) are one of the most popular passive flow control devices due to their simplicity, effectiveness and low cost for both production and installation. They are small vanes which are located at the extrados of a lifting surface with an angle of inclination with the inflow. The main target of these devices is to delay the flow separation and increase the maximum lift coefficient, transferring the energy produced in the outer region to the boundary layer region
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