Aerodynamic performance and characteristic of vortex structures for Darrieus wind turbine. II. The relationship between vortex structure and aerodynamic performance

In this paper, transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of a straight-bladed Darrieus type vertical axis wind turbine were performed by means of an in-house CFD code. The Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model was implemented in the numerical code for the turbulence. Particular emphasis was placed on effect of interaction between vortices and blades on the aerodynamic performance of the simulated turbine at different tip speed and solidity ratios. The obtained results suggested that vortices were shed from previous blade passages and the close encounter of a rotor blade with these vortices can have a considerable impact on power coefficient of the simulated turbine during operation at different tip speed ratios. As a result, possible reasons for the changes in the behavior of this type of turbine due to the variation of tip speed ratio and solidity were proposed.