Computational fluid dynamics analysis of a twisted three-bladed H-Darrieus rotor

A steady-state two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics analysis was performed using FLUENT 6.2 software to analyze the performance of a twisted three-bladed H-Darrieus rotor. The flow over the rotor was simulated by using unstructured-mesh finite volume method coupled with moving mesh technique to solve mass and momentum conservation equations. The standard $k-ε$ turbulence model was chosen. Second-order upwind discretization scheme was adopted for pressure-velocity coupling of the flow. The aerodynamic coefficients, such as lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and lift-to-drag coefficient, were evaluated with respect to angle of attack for two chord Reynolds numbers. The power coefficient of the rotor was also evaluated. The results were validated by using experimental values for the twisted three-bladed H-Darrieus rotor. The experiments were earlier conducted in a subsonic wind tunnel available in the department. The results showed good matching between the two approaches. The effect of twist angle at the chord ends on the performance of the rotor was also evaluated.