Detached‐eddy simulation of flow around the NREL Phase VI blade

The detached‐eddy simulation model implemented in the computational fluid dynamics code EllipSys3D is used to calculate the flow around the non‐rotating NREL Phase VI wind turbine blade. Results are presented for flow around a parked blade at fixed angle of attack and a blade pitching along the blade axis. Computed blade characteristics are compared with experimental data from the NREL/NASA Ames Phase VI unsteady experiment. The detached‐eddy simulation model is a method for predicting turbulence in computational fluid dynamics computations, which combines a Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes method in the boundary layer with a large‐eddy simulation in the free shear flow. The present study focuses on static and dynamic stall regions highly relevant for stall‐regulated wind turbines. Computations do predict force coefficients and pressure distributions fairly well. Results using detached‐eddy simulation show considerably more three‐dimensional flow structures compared to conventional two‐equation Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence models, but no particular improvements are seen in the global blade characteristics.