Low-Computational-Cost Parabolic RANS Solver for Simulating and Optimizing Wind Turbine Columns

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dc.contributor.advisorIungo, Giacomo V.
dc.creatorSanthanagopalan, Vignesh
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-10T20:46:23Z
dc.date.available2020-07-10T20:46:23Z
dc.date.created2017-12
dc.date.issued2017-12
dc.date.submittedDecember 2017
dc.date.updated2020-07-10T20:46:23Z
dc.description.abstractA computational fluid dynamics tool for prediction of wakes and their interactions within a wind turbine column is presented. A Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver is developed for axisymmetric wake flows using parabolic and boundary-layer approximations, in order to achieve a good trade-off between computational cost and accuracy, with the aim of application in optimization problems of wind farms. Boussinesq hypothesis and a length scale varying as a function of the streamwise location, calibrated from higher accuracy large eddy simulation (LES) dataset, are modeled through a mixing length model and a parabolic transport equation of the turbulent kinetic energy. The novelty of this work consists in modeling the mixing length to accurately predict time-averaged velocity field in the presence of wake interactions as well as varying incoming free-stream turbulence. The actuator disc model is implemented in the parabolic scheme for simulating turbine effects and estimating power production. The RANS simulations have a good agreement with the LES dataset in comparing the wake field, time-averaged turbulence statistics and power production, for cases designed to test effects of tip speed ratio, spacing between turbines and free-stream turbulence. Furthermore, the RANS solver is also assessed with good agreement with wind tunnel experiments of a turbine model. The tool is then leveraged in optimization problems considering different algorithms and objective functions. The proposed Parabolic RANS (P-RANS) solver is a great alternative for analytical and engineering wake models in obtaining more accurate predictions while requiring two orders of magnitude lesser computation than LES.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10735.1/8706
dc.language.isoen
dc.rights©2017 Vignesh Santhanagopalan. All rights reserved.
dc.subjectWind turbines—Aerodynamics
dc.subjectWakes (Aerodynamics)
dc.subjectActuators
dc.subjectComputational fluid dynamics
dc.subjectWind power plants
dc.subjectDynamic programming
dc.subjectStructural optimization
dc.titleLow-Computational-Cost Parabolic RANS Solver for Simulating and Optimizing Wind Turbine Columns
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialtext
thesis.degree.departmentMechanical Engineering
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas at Dallas
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMS

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