High-Fidelity Aero-Structural Simulation of Occluded Wind Turbine Blades

Tom R O Wainwright, Daniel J Poole, Christian B Allen, Jamil Appa

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

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Abstract

A coupled, high-fidelity simulation framework on GPUs is presented, and is used to perform an aero-structural simulation of large wind turbines, where a turbine is fully-occluded in the wake of another. The GPU-enabled flow solver, zCFD, is coupled with a modal structural model using a multi-variate volume interpolation with radial basis functions (RBFs). Forces and displacements are transferred between non-coincident aerodynamic and structural models through the interpolation. A multi-scale RBF mesh deformation scheme is then used to propagate displacements through the volume mesh. A fully-meshed turbine in freestream flow is modelled, as well as two turbines at five diameters separation. The turbine blades are modified IEA 15MW blades run at the maximum IEA 15MW loading condition (95m/s tip speed in flow at 25m/s). A 10 million cell aerodynamic mesh is used to ensure sufficient capture and transport of the upstream turbine wake. Converged simulations of a fully occluded turbine are presented, as well as aerodynamic simulations of isolated and occluded turbines.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2021 AIAA SciTech Forum
PublisherAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc. (AIAA)
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 4 Jan 2021
Event2021 AIAA SciTech Forum - Virtual Event
Duration: 4 Jan 202115 Jan 2021
https://www.aiaa.org/SciTech

Conference

Conference2021 AIAA SciTech Forum
Period4/01/2115/01/21
Internet address

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