Computational Fluid Dynamics Investigation of a Novel Multiblade Wind Turbine in a Duct

A novel manufacturing approach similar to filament winding is able to produce high-performance and lightweight composite wheels. The production can be rapid, inexpensive, and utilize commercially available winding machines. One potential application of the wheel is as a wind turbine. It is widely accepted that placing a duct around a wind turbine can enhance its performance, especially when a new designed turbine with unique advantages has a relatively low power coefficient, it is necessary to examine the benefits and economics of a turbine in a duct. In this study, a numerical analysis of a ducted multiblade composite wind turbine using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is evaluated and compared with a bare wind turbine of the same turbine area. This investigation was performed using FLUENT in conjunction with the GAMBIT meshing tool. The extracted power is calculated and compared for these two modeling designs. Through the comparison of power coefficient variation with thrust coefficient, it was found that a ducted turbine can be 2-3 times that of the power extracted by a bare turbine. The results of the analysis provide an insight into the aerodynamic design and operation of a ducted wind turbine in order to shorten the design period and improve its technical performance. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4007089]