Aerodynamic Simulation of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines

Full-scale, 3D, time-dependent aerodynamics modeling and simulation of a Darrieus-type vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) is presented. The simulations are performed using a moving-domain finite-element-based ALE-VMS technique augmented with a sliding-interface formulation to handle the rotor-stator interactions present. We simulate a single VAWT using a sequence of meshes with increased resolution to assess the computational requirements for this class of problems. The computational results are in good agreement with experimental data. We also perform a computation of two side-by-side counterrotating VAWTs to illustrate how the ALE-VMS technique may be used for the simulation of multiple turbines placed in arrays.