High-Order Large-Eddy Simulations of a Ducted Wind Turbine

Abstract

A high-order flux reconstruction method coupled with a high-order sliding mesh method is applied to analyze the performance of a ducted wind turbine at a Reynolds number of $1.25\times 10^6$. To investigate the impacts of the duct, axial flow simulations are also performed for the corresponding open-rotor turbine. It is shown that the ducted turbine has higher thrust and power outputs than the open rotor. Vorticity and velocity fields of two configurations are also visualized and analyzed to show the differences. To evaluate the effects of yawed flows, simulations are carried out for both turbines under five different yaw angles $\gamma=0^{\circ}, \pm15^{\circ}, \pm 30^{\circ}$. The results reveal that the ducted wind turbine has higher power outputs than the open counterpart at all tested yaw angles.