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Characterization of aerodynamic performance of wind-lens turbine using high-fidelity CFD simulations

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Abstract

Wind-lens turbines (WLTs) exhibit the prospect of a higher output power and more suitability for urban areas in comparison to bare wind turbines. The wind-lens typically comprises a diffuser shroud coupled with a flange appended to the exit periphery of the shroud. Wind-lenses can boost the velocity of the incoming wind through the turbine rotor owing to the creation of a low-pressure zone downstream the flanged diffuser. In this paper, the aerodynamic performance of the wind-lens is computationally assessed using high-fidelity transient CFD simulations for shrouds with different profiles, aiming to assess the effect of change of some design parameters such as length, area ratio and flange height of the diffuser shroud on the power augmentation. The power coefficient (Cp)is calculated by solving the URANS equations with the aid of the SST k–ω model. Furthermore, comparisons with experimental data for validation are accomplished to prove that the proposed methodology could be able to precisely predict the aerodynamic behavior of the wind-lens turbine. The results affirm that wind-lens with cycloidal profile yield an augmentation of about 58% increase in power coefficient compared to bare wind turbine of the same rotor swept-area. It is also emphasized that diffusers (cycloid type) of small length could achieve a twice increase in power coefficient while maintaining large flange heights.

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Abbreviations

Q :

Mechanical torque/(N·m)

h :

Flange height/m

D h :

Hub diameter/m

L N :

Inlet length/m

L D :

Diffuser length/m

C p,max :

Maximum power coefficient

K :

Acceleration factor

p :

Static pressure/Pa

y + :

Normalized wall distance

C p :

Power coefficient

Re :

Reynolds number

D :

Throat diameter/m

s :

Tip clearance/m

C q :

Torque coefficient

A exit/A throat :

Area ratio

R :

Rotor radius/m

k :

Turbulence kinetic energy/(J·kg−1)

U 0 :

Wind velocity/(m·s−1)

U z :

Streamwise velocity/(m·s−1)

z :

Cartesian coordinate in the z-direction

N :

Number of cycles

P :

Mechanical power/W

c :

Chord length/m

Δt :

Time step/s

λ :

Tip-speed ratio

ω :

Specific turbulence dissipation rate/s−1

μ t :

Eddy viscosity/(m2·s−1)

ε :

Turbulence dissipation rate/(J·(kg·s)−1)

ζ :

Vorticity/s−1

θ T :

Twist angle/(°)

ρ :

Density/(kg·m−3)

μ :

Absolute viscosity/(kg·(m·s)−1)

Δθ :

Azimuthal angular step/(°)

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

DAWT:

Diffuser augmented wind turbine

DNS:

Direct numerical simulation

GA:

Genetic algorithm

HAWT:

Horizontal-axis wind turbine

LES:

Large eddy simulation

PISO:

Pressure implicit with splitting of operator

SST:

Shear Stress Transport

SMM:

Sliding mesh model

URANS:

Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations

MEL:

Mechanical Engineering Laboratory

WLT:

Wind-lens turbine

BC:

Boundary condition

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering-Mataria, Helwan University, Cairo, 11718, Egypt

    Islam Hashem, Aida A. Hafiz & Mohamed H. Mohamed

  2. State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Islam Hashem

  3. Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 5555, Saudi Arabia

    Mohamed H. Mohamed

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  1. Islam Hashem
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  2. Aida A. Hafiz
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  3. Mohamed H. Mohamed
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Correspondence to Mohamed H. Mohamed.

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Hashem, I., Hafiz, A.A. & Mohamed, M.H. Characterization of aerodynamic performance of wind-lens turbine using high-fidelity CFD simulations. Front. Energy 16, 661–682 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-020-0713-0

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