Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Performances for NREL 5-MW Offshore Wind Turbine

As one of the preferred types of renewable energy, wind energy is rapidly growing. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive and in-depth numerical analysis on the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) 5-MW offshore wind turbine to help understand the wind turbine’s aerodynamic features...

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Main Authors: Qiqing Zhang, Xiuling Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-04-01
Series:Wind
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2674-032X/3/2/12
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author Qiqing Zhang
Xiuling Wang
author_facet Qiqing Zhang
Xiuling Wang
author_sort Qiqing Zhang
collection DOAJ
description As one of the preferred types of renewable energy, wind energy is rapidly growing. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive and in-depth numerical analysis on the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) 5-MW offshore wind turbine to help understand the wind turbine’s aerodynamic features. In this research, the preprocessing was conducted by using SolidWorks modeling, and a realizable k-ε viscous model from ANSYS/FLUENT was used as the solver in the CFD simulation. Eight test cases were developed, and fixed inlet velocity 9 m/s was set as the baseline case. After the initial mesh independent study and model validation, a detailed numerical analysis was carried out. The results of near wake flow features, torque and thrust, pressure and pressure coefficient distribution, limiting streamline along wind turbine blades, power coefficient as a function of tip speed ratio were evaluated. Whenever possible, simulation results were compared with data in the literature (numerical or experimental), and good agreement was observed. The detailed wind turbine aerodynamic analysis results are expected to provide valuable input to wind turbine design and thus to improve the effectiveness of harnessing wind energy. Research is on the way to further understanding the influence of different inflow conditions on the aerodynamic characteristics.
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spelling doaj.art-604b5c8ac776487591c455f905f3b4412023-11-18T13:06:43ZengMDPI AGWind2674-032X2023-04-013219121210.3390/wind3020012Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Performances for NREL 5-MW Offshore Wind TurbineQiqing Zhang0Xiuling Wang1Mechanical and Civil Engineering Department, Purdue University Northwest, Hammond, IN 46323, USAMechanical and Civil Engineering Department, Purdue University Northwest, Hammond, IN 46323, USAAs one of the preferred types of renewable energy, wind energy is rapidly growing. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive and in-depth numerical analysis on the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) 5-MW offshore wind turbine to help understand the wind turbine’s aerodynamic features. In this research, the preprocessing was conducted by using SolidWorks modeling, and a realizable k-ε viscous model from ANSYS/FLUENT was used as the solver in the CFD simulation. Eight test cases were developed, and fixed inlet velocity 9 m/s was set as the baseline case. After the initial mesh independent study and model validation, a detailed numerical analysis was carried out. The results of near wake flow features, torque and thrust, pressure and pressure coefficient distribution, limiting streamline along wind turbine blades, power coefficient as a function of tip speed ratio were evaluated. Whenever possible, simulation results were compared with data in the literature (numerical or experimental), and good agreement was observed. The detailed wind turbine aerodynamic analysis results are expected to provide valuable input to wind turbine design and thus to improve the effectiveness of harnessing wind energy. Research is on the way to further understanding the influence of different inflow conditions on the aerodynamic characteristics.https://www.mdpi.com/2674-032X/3/2/12wind energyaerodynamic analysisoffshore wind turbine
spellingShingle Qiqing Zhang
Xiuling Wang
Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Performances for NREL 5-MW Offshore Wind Turbine
Wind
wind energy
aerodynamic analysis
offshore wind turbine
title Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Performances for NREL 5-MW Offshore Wind Turbine
title_full Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Performances for NREL 5-MW Offshore Wind Turbine
title_fullStr Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Performances for NREL 5-MW Offshore Wind Turbine
title_full_unstemmed Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Performances for NREL 5-MW Offshore Wind Turbine
title_short Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Performances for NREL 5-MW Offshore Wind Turbine
title_sort numerical investigation of aerodynamic performances for nrel 5 mw offshore wind turbine
topic wind energy
aerodynamic analysis
offshore wind turbine
url https://www.mdpi.com/2674-032X/3/2/12
work_keys_str_mv AT qiqingzhang numericalinvestigationofaerodynamicperformancesfornrel5mwoffshorewindturbine
AT xiulingwang numericalinvestigationofaerodynamicperformancesfornrel5mwoffshorewindturbine