Preliminary CFD Evaluation of Selected Hypotheses for a Wind Energy Concentrator

This paper presents a preliminary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) assessment of four conical frustum wind concentrator configurations (Models A–D) intended for augmentation of small wind turbines in low-wind-speed regions. The designs share a fixed 3:1 inlet-to-outlet area ratio and differ only in frustum length and wall angle, providing a controlled comparison of geometric effects. Steady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations with the Realizable k-ε model in ANSYS Fluent quantify outlet velocity amplification (V_Amp = V_out / V_in), radial uniformity and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE). Model B (short and steep taper) achieves the highest V_Amp, whereas longer designs (Models C and D) yield more uniform outflow at the expense of reduced gain. Model A strikes an intermediate balance. The results establish clear geometry–performance trade-offs that are practically relevant: overly high tapers risk non-uniform, turbulent outflow, while long ducts add material and drag but offer diminishing returns. This paper includes only the preliminary interpretation derived from test-run CFD observations. These CFD trends form the basis for turbine integrated modeling and controlled experimentation in subsequent work.