IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i17p6211-d898283.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigations of Vertical-Axis Wind-Turbine Group Synergy Using an Actuator Line Model

Author

Listed:
  • Ji Hao Zhang

    (Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Fue-Sang Lien

    (Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

  • Eugene Yee

    (Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada)

Abstract

The presence of power augmentation effects, or synergy, in vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) offers unique opportunities for enhancing wind-farm performance. This paper uses an open-source actuator-line-method (ALM) code library for OpenFOAM (turbinesFoam) to conduct an investigation into the synergy patterns within two- and three-turbine VAWT arrays. The application of ALM greatly reduces the computational cost of simulating VAWTs by modelling turbines as momentum source terms in the Navier–Stokes equations. In conjunction with an unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) approach using the k - ω shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model, the ALM has proven capable of predicting VAWT synergy. The synergy of multi-turbine cases is characterized using the power ratio which is defined as the power coefficient of the turbine cluster normalized by that for turbines in isolated operation. The variation of the power ratio is characterized with respect to the array layout parameters, and connections are drawn with previous investigations, showing good agreement. The results from 108 two-turbine and 40 three-turbine configurations obtained using ALM are visualized and analyzed to augment the understanding of the VAWT synergy landscape, demonstrating the effectiveness of various layouts. A novel synergy superposition scheme is proposed for approximating three-turbine synergy using pairwise interactions, and it is shown to be remarkably accurate.

Suggested Citation

  • Ji Hao Zhang & Fue-Sang Lien & Eugene Yee, 2022. "Investigations of Vertical-Axis Wind-Turbine Group Synergy Using an Actuator Line Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-22, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:17:p:6211-:d:898283
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/17/6211/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/17/6211/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barnes, Andrew & Hughes, Ben, 2019. "Determining the impact of VAWT farm configurations on power output," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1111-1120.
    2. Zheng, H.-D. & Zheng, X.Y. & Zhao, S.X., 2020. "Arrangement of clustered straight-bladed wind turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    3. Zanforlin, Stefania & Nishino, Takafumi, 2016. "Fluid dynamic mechanisms of enhanced power generation by closely spaced vertical axis wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 1213-1226.
    4. Howell, Robert & Qin, Ning & Edwards, Jonathan & Durrani, Naveed, 2010. "Wind tunnel and numerical study of a small vertical axis wind turbine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 412-422.
    5. Balduzzi, Francesco & Bianchini, Alessandro & Maleci, Riccardo & Ferrara, Giovanni & Ferrari, Lorenzo, 2016. "Critical issues in the CFD simulation of Darrieus wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 419-435.
    6. Li, Chao & Zhu, Songye & Xu, You-lin & Xiao, Yiqing, 2013. "2.5D large eddy simulation of vertical axis wind turbine in consideration of high angle of attack flow," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 317-330.
    7. Zuo, Wei & Wang, Xiaodong & Kang, Shun, 2016. "Numerical simulations on the wake effect of H-type vertical axis wind turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 691-700.
    8. Ian D. Brownstein & Nathaniel J. Wei & John O. Dabiri, 2019. "Aerodynamically Interacting Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: Performance Enhancement and Three-Dimensional Flow," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-23, July.
    9. Lam, H.F. & Peng, H.Y., 2017. "Measurements of the wake characteristics of co- and counter-rotating twin H-rotor vertical axis wind turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 13-26.
    10. Benjamin Strom & Steven L. Brunton & Brian Polagye, 2017. "Intracycle angular velocity control of cross-flow turbines," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(8), pages 1-9, August.
    11. Yoshifumi Jodai & Yutaka Hara, 2021. "Wind Tunnel Experiments on Interaction between Two Closely Spaced Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines in Side-by-Side Arrangement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-19, November.
    12. Jain, Palash & Abhishek, A., 2016. "Performance prediction and fundamental understanding of small scale vertical axis wind turbine with variable amplitude blade pitching," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 97-113.
    13. Ahmadi-Baloutaki, Mojtaba & Carriveau, Rupp & Ting, David S-K., 2016. "A wind tunnel study on the aerodynamic interaction of vertical axis wind turbines in array configurations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA), pages 904-913.
    14. Delafin, P.-L. & Nishino, T. & Kolios, A. & Wang, L., 2017. "Comparison of low-order aerodynamic models and RANS CFD for full scale 3D vertical axis wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 564-575.
    15. Liu, Kan & Yu, Meilin & Zhu, Weidong, 2019. "Enhancing wind energy harvesting performance of vertical axis wind turbines with a new hybrid design: A fluid-structure interaction study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 912-927.
    16. Victor Mendoza & Anders Goude, 2020. "Validation of Actuator Line and Vortex Models Using Normal Forces Measurements of a Straight-Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-16, January.
    17. Jifeng Peng, 2018. "Effects of Aerodynamic Interactions of Closely-Placed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Pairs," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, October.
    18. Yutaka Hara & Yoshifumi Jodai & Tomoyuki Okinaga & Masaru Furukawa, 2021. "Numerical Analysis of the Dynamic Interaction between Two Closely Spaced Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-23, April.
    19. Ruiwen Zhao & Angus C. W. Creech & Alistair G. L. Borthwick & Vengatesan Venugopal & Takafumi Nishino, 2020. "Aerodynamic Analysis of a Two-Bladed Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine Using a Coupled Unsteady RANS and Actuator Line Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-26, February.
    20. Sina Shamsoddin & Fernando Porté-Agel, 2014. "Large Eddy Simulation of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Wakes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, February.
    21. Shaaban, S. & Albatal, A. & Mohamed, M.H., 2018. "Optimization of H-Rotor Darrieus turbines' mutual interaction in staggered arrangements," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 87-99.
    22. Hansen, Joachim Toftegaard & Mahak, Mahak & Tzanakis, Iakovos, 2021. "Numerical modelling and optimization of vertical axis wind turbine pairs: A scale up approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1371-1381.
    23. Angus C. W. Creech & Alistair G. L. Borthwick & David Ingram, 2017. "Effects of Support Structures in an LES Actuator Line Model of a Tidal Turbine with Contra-Rotating Rotors," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-25, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yoshifumi Jodai & Yutaka Hara, 2023. "Wind-Tunnel Experiments on the Interactions among a Pair/Trio of Closely Spaced Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-27, January.
    2. Chloë Dorge & Eric Louis Bibeau, 2023. "Deep Learning-Based Prediction of Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Solutions for Vertical-Axis Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-33, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Barnes, Andrew & Marshall-Cross, Daniel & Hughes, Ben Richard, 2021. "Towards a standard approach for future Vertical Axis Wind Turbine aerodynamics research and development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    2. Posa, Antonio, 2022. "Wake characterization of paired cross-flow turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 1064-1094.
    3. Xu, Zhongyun & Chen, Jian & Li, Chun, 2023. "Research on the adaptability of dynamic pitch control strategies on H-type VAWT close-range arrays by simulation study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    4. Peng, H.Y. & Liu, H.J. & Yang, J.H., 2021. "A review on the wake aerodynamics of H-rotor vertical axis wind turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    5. Peng, H.Y. & Liu, M.N. & Liu, H.J. & Lin, K., 2022. "Optimization of twin vertical axis wind turbines through large eddy simulations and Taguchi method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    6. Jeffrey E. Silva & Louis Angelo M. Danao, 2021. "Varying VAWT Cluster Configuration and the Effect on Individual Rotor and Overall Cluster Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-22, March.
    7. Kuang, Limin & Katsuchi, Hiroshi & Zhou, Dai & Chen, Yaoran & Han, Zhaolong & Zhang, Kai & Wang, Jiaqi & Bao, Yan & Cao, Yong & Liu, Yijie, 2023. "Strategy for mitigating wake interference between offshore vertical-axis wind turbines: Evaluation of vertically staggered arrangement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 351(C).
    8. Zanforlin, Stefania & Deluca, Stefano, 2018. "Effects of the Reynolds number and the tip losses on the optimal aspect ratio of straight-bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 179-195.
    9. Yoshifumi Jodai & Yutaka Hara, 2023. "Wind-Tunnel Experiments on the Interactions among a Pair/Trio of Closely Spaced Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-27, January.
    10. Peng, H.Y. & Han, Z.D. & Liu, H.J. & Lin, K. & Lam, H.F., 2020. "Assessment and optimization of the power performance of twin vertical axis wind turbines via numerical simulations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 43-54.
    11. Yoshifumi Jodai & Yutaka Hara, 2021. "Wind Tunnel Experiments on Interaction between Two Closely Spaced Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines in Side-by-Side Arrangement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-19, November.
    12. Yadav, Sandeep & Veeravalli, Srinivas V. & Singh, Sidh Nath, 2024. "Effect of rotor spacing, overlapping and non-overlapping, on the performance of a coupled counter-rotating twin-rotor VAWT using CFD," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    13. Ni, Lulu & Miao, Weipao & Li, Chun & Liu, Qingsong, 2021. "Impacts of Gurney flap and solidity on the aerodynamic performance of vertical axis wind turbines in array configurations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    14. Masaru Furukawa & Yutaka Hara & Yoshifumi Jodai, 2022. "Analytical Model for Phase Synchronization of a Pair of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, June.
    15. Abdalrahman, Gebreel & Melek, William & Lien, Fue-Sang, 2017. "Pitch angle control for a small-scale Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine with straight blades (H-Type VAWT)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(PB), pages 1353-1362.
    16. Chloë Dorge & Eric Louis Bibeau, 2023. "Deep Learning-Based Prediction of Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Solutions for Vertical-Axis Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-33, January.
    17. Manuel Viqueira-Moreira & Esteban Ferrer, 2020. "Insights into the Aeroacoustic Noise Generation for Vertical Axis Turbines in Close Proximity," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-18, August.
    18. Zheng, H.-D. & Zheng, X.Y. & Zhao, S.X., 2020. "Arrangement of clustered straight-bladed wind turbines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    19. Santiago Laín & Pablo Cortés & Omar Darío López, 2020. "Numerical Simulation of the Flow around a Straight Blade Darrieus Water Turbine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-27, March.
    20. Kun Wang & Li Zou & Aimin Wang & Peidong Zhao & Yichen Jiang, 2020. "Wind Tunnel Study on Wake Instability of Twin H-Rotor Vertical-Axis Turbines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:17:p:6211-:d:898283. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.