Numerical Simulation of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines with Vortex Generators

In the present study, a simulation about the effects of vortex generators on horizontal axis wind turbine rotor blade was numerically conducted using a static coupled CFD–CSD method. A Navier–Stokes CFD flow solver based on unstructured meshes was used to obtain the blade aerodynamic loads. A FEM-based CSD solver employing a nonlinear coupled flap-lag-torsion beam theory was utilized to calculate the blade elastic deformation. The coupling of the CFD and CSD solvers was accomplished in a loosely coupled manner by exchanging the information between the two solvers at infrequent intervals. The static coupled CFD–CSD method was applied to the NREL 5 MW reference wind turbine rotor under steady axial flow conditions. Triangular counter-rotating vortex generators were adopted to control flow separation and radial flow in the inboard section of the NREL 5 MW reference rotor blades. They were installed on the inboard part of the blade from 0.2 to 0.4 R. As a result of the flow analysis considering the counter-rotating vortex generators, strong vortices were generated by counter-rotating vortex generators. It can be seen that the regions where flow separation and radial flow occur in the inboard sections were reduced compared to the baseline wind turbine. For this reason, the maximum power improvement due to counter-rotating vortex generators was 1.04% at the rated wind speed.