This paper presents a new numerical technique for simulating two-dimensional wind turbine flow. The method, denoted as the 2D actuator surface technique, consists of a two-dimensional Navier–Stokes solver in which the pressure distribution is represented by body forces that are distributed along the chord of the airfoils. The distribution of body force is determined from a set of predefined functions that depend on angle of attack and airfoil shape. The predefined functions are curve fitted using pressure distributions obtained either from viscous-inviscid interactive codes or from full Navier–Stokes simulations. The actuator surface technique is evaluated by computing the two-dimensional flow past a NACA 0015 airfoil at a Reynolds number of and an angle of attack of and by comparing the computed streamlines with the results from a traditional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes computation. In the last part, the actuator surface technique is applied to compute the flow past a two-bladed vertical axis wind turbine equipped with NACA 0012 airfoils. Comparisons with experimental data show an encouraging performance of the method.
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e-mail: shen@mek.dtu.dk
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February 2009
Research Papers
The Actuator Surface Model: A New Navier–Stokes Based Model for Rotor Computations
Wen Zhong Shen,
Wen Zhong Shen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: shen@mek.dtu.dk
Technical University of Denmark
, Building 403, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Search for other works by this author on:
Jian Hui Zhang,
Jian Hui Zhang
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
, Building 403, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Search for other works by this author on:
Jens Nørkær Sørensen
Jens Nørkær Sørensen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
, Building 403, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Search for other works by this author on:
Wen Zhong Shen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
, Building 403, 2800 Lyngby, Denmarke-mail: shen@mek.dtu.dk
Jian Hui Zhang
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
, Building 403, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Jens Nørkær Sørensen
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Technical University of Denmark
, Building 403, 2800 Lyngby, DenmarkJ. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2009, 131(1): 011002 (9 pages)
Published Online: January 6, 2009
Article history
Received:
July 5, 2007
Revised:
July 6, 2008
Published:
January 6, 2009
Citation
Shen, W. Z., Zhang, J. H., and Sørensen, J. N. (January 6, 2009). "The Actuator Surface Model: A New Navier–Stokes Based Model for Rotor Computations." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2009; 131(1): 011002. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3027502
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