This study presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the effects of tunnel blockage, defined as the ratio of the free portion of a wind tunnel cross-section with and without the rotor of a small-size (diameter 2Â m) horizontal-axis turbine (HAWT). Experimental measurements were performed on three rotors with different number of blades, namely three, five and six, and different tip speed ratios, in the closed-loop closed-test chamber wind tunnel of the University of Perugia. Numerical wind tunnel simulations were performed at the University of Genoa through a steady-RANS method with SST k-ω turbulence model by means of the CFD solver OpenFOAM. The wind turbine was represented numerically by the actuator disc method. Simulations have been compared to experimental results for validation.
Experimental and Numerical Study of the Wind Tunnel Blockage Effects on the Behaviour of a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine
Eltayesh A.;Castellani F.;Becchetti M.
2019
Abstract
This study presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the effects of tunnel blockage, defined as the ratio of the free portion of a wind tunnel cross-section with and without the rotor of a small-size (diameter 2Â m) horizontal-axis turbine (HAWT). Experimental measurements were performed on three rotors with different number of blades, namely three, five and six, and different tip speed ratios, in the closed-loop closed-test chamber wind tunnel of the University of Perugia. Numerical wind tunnel simulations were performed at the University of Genoa through a steady-RANS method with SST k-ω turbulence model by means of the CFD solver OpenFOAM. The wind turbine was represented numerically by the actuator disc method. Simulations have been compared to experimental results for validation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
