Abstract
The performance of a wind turbine is affected by wind conditions and blade shape. This study aimed to optimize the performance of a 20 kW horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) under local wind conditions at Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia. Ansys Fluent (version 18.2, Canonsburg, PA, USA) was used to investigate the aerodynamic performance of the HAWT. The effects of four Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence models on predicting the flows under separation condition were examined. The transition SST model had the best agreement with the NREL CER data. Then, the aerodynamic shape of the rotor was optimized to maximize the annual energy production (AEP) in the Deniliquin region. Statistical wind analysis was applied to define the Weibull function and scale parameters which were 2.096 and 5.042 m/s, respectively. The HARP_Opt (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA) was enhanced with design variables concerning the shape of the blade, rated rotational speed, and pitch angle. The pitch angle remained at 0° while the rising wind speed improved rotor speed to 148.4482 rpm at rated speed. This optimization improved the AEP rate by 9.068% when compared to the original NREL design.
Highlights
Energy demands are increasing worldwide and exponentially, given the rising population and needs for economic growth [1]
−1 and blade aerodynamic characteristics of the twisted wind turbine, where the mechanical torque pressure distribution were used for model validation when compared with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) test results
This section firstly investigates the effect of those four turbulence models on predicting the aerodynamic characteristics of the twisted wind turbine, where the mechanical torque and blade pressure distribution were used for model validation when compared with the NREL test results
Summary
Energy demands are increasing worldwide and exponentially, given the rising population and needs for economic growth [1]. Consumption of energy is expected to increase by 56% from 553 quadrillion kJ to 855 quadrillion kJ for the period 2010 to 2040 [2]. The extensive consumption of fossil fuels is the primary source of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, which is estimated to increase from 31 to 36 billion metric tons during 2010–2020 and may reach 45 billion metric tons by. The demand for what is termed “clean energy” has increased enormously in recent years due to the fact of people’s environmental awareness, desire for energy security, and governments enacting increasingly strict environmental policies [4]. The global power installation from wind energy rose from 296,581 MW in 2013 to 539,291 MW in 2017, and it is predicted to reach 817 GW by 2021 [3]
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