Evaluation of predictive methods for wind turbine performance and wake development

Abstract

In this project I have predicted the performance and the wake development for a model wind turbine using the actuator disc with Blade Elements Momentum (BEM) methods. The flow has been solved using OpenFOAM, an open-source CFD software, in combination with the k-ε turbulent model. The results obtained have been compared with the experimental results from the wind tunnel. There is a good prediction in the wake velocity profiles whereas the kinetic turbulent energy is underestimated. Furthermore I have predicted the wake development with the simple actuator disc and with the Jensen model, methods computationally cheaper but less accurate. Finally the wind turbine models have been compared with the drag disc, a simple porous disc using for simulate the wind turbine wake. The actuator disc with BEM is fairly closer to the wind turbine than the drag disc.