LES on wind turbines by comparison of Vortex Particle Method and Finite Volume Method codes

Abstract The aim of this paper is to compare two different computational methods that analyse the flow around wind turbine using Large-Eddy-Simulations (LES). The first method uses a three-dimensional unsteady Lagrangian Vortex Particle method (VP) associated to a lifting-line (LL) approach providing radial loads, integrated thrust and power coefficients, circulations and angle of attack across the turbine blades. The second method solves the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with the classical Finite Volume (FV) method coupled to the Actuator Line (AL) method to model the rotor blades. Both methods are compared by means of a benchmark consisting in a single full-scale NREL5MW wind turbine and the results are thus compared to Martínez-Tossas et al (2018). The comparisons involve loads, angle of attack and velocity along the blade. Wakes downstream of the turbine are analysed via the evolution of flow fields as mean velocity and vorticity. Results are found to be in good agreement with the verification case. A comparison is also performed on the evaluation of the numerical cost, precision and efficiency of both computational methods.