Multi-element ducts for ducted wind turbines: A numerical study

Vinit V. Dighe*, Francesco Avallone, Ozer Igra, Gerard Van Bussel

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)
101 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Multi-element ducts are used to improve the aerodynamic performance of ducted wind turbines (DWTs). Steady-state, two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed for a multi-element duct geometry consisting of a duct and a flap; the goal is to evaluate the effects on the aerodynamic performance of the radial gap length and the deflection angle of the flap. Solutions from inviscid and viscous flow calculations are compared. It is found that increasing the radial gap length results in an augmentation of the total thrust generated by the DWT, whereas a larger deflection angle has an opposite effect. Reasonable to good agreement is seen between the inviscid and viscous flow calculations, except for multi-element duct configurations characterized by large flap deflection angles. The viscous effects become stronger at large flap deflection angles, and the inviscid calculations are incapable of taking this phenomenon into account.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)439-449
Number of pages11
JournalWind Energy Science
Volume4
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Aug 2019

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