The influence of turbulence model and two and three-dimensional domain selection on the simulated performance characteristics of vertical axis tidal turbines

The influence of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling techniques on the accuracy of fixed pitch vertical axis turbine power output predictions was investigated. Using Two-Dimensional (2D) and Three-Dimensional (3D) models, as well as the Baseline-Reynolds Stress Model (BSL-RSM) and the k-omega Shear Stress Transport (k-omega SST) model in its fully turbulent and laminar-to-turbulent formulation, differences in power output modeling accuracy were evaluated against experimental results from literature. The highest correlation was found using a 3D domain model that fully resolved the boundary layer combined with the k-omega SST laminar-to-turbulent model. The turbulent 3D fully resolved boundary layer k-omega SST model also accurately predicted power output for most rotational rates, at a significantly reduced computational cost when compared to its laminar-to-turbulent formulation. The 3D fully resolved BSL-RSM model and 3D wall function boundary layer k-omega SST model were found to poorly simulate power output. Poor output predictions were also obtained using 2D domain k-omega SST models, as they were unable to account for blade tip and strut effects. The authors suggest that 3D domain fully turbulent k-omega SST models with fully resolved boundary layer meshes are used for predicting turbine power output given their accuracy and computational efficiency. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.