Investigation of meshing strategies and turbulence models of computational fluid dynamics simulations of vertical axis wind turbines

Abstract

Making good use of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) is an attractive and potential way to deal with the energy and environmental issues due to the unique superiorities of it. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology is a useful tool for the design process of VAWTs. Various turbulence models have been developed and available for turbulent flow simulations. Currently, there have been few researchers studying on meshing strategies and turbulence model selections of VAWT simulations. In this paper, 2D unsteady models under 4 meshing strategies and 6 turbulence models were established and simulated to investigate the effect of the above two aspects on numerical simulations of VAWTs. The numerical results were compared with the experimental data of Oler et al. (“Dynamic stall regulation of the Darrieus Turbine,” SAND Report No. 83–7029, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, 1983, pp. 67–96) and the analytical solution of Deglaire et al. (Eur. J. Mech., B: Fluids 28(4), 506–520 (2009)). The results reveal that a mesh of 213 656 grids is sufficient to meet the requirements of grid independence with the help of boundary layer and size function techniques. Besides, the realizable k-ε model enables the closest CFD simulation of the experimental data and shows better prediction performance than the analytical model of Deglaire et al. and other turbulence models.