Numerical investigation of a reduced scale Lenz wind turbine model for aerodynamic tunnel applications

Renewable energy sources represent efficient and reliable energy solutions for the modern world, as they are eco-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels or nuclear power plants. The technologies available nowadays allow researchers to perform in-depth computational fluid dynamics analysis for systems that can generate green energy. The wind energy industry developed considerably as classic wind turbine models (horizontal axis wind turbines and vertical axis wind turbines) are constantly optimized and new configurations are studied in order to asses better performances. This paper presents the numerical investigation campaign of a reduced scale Lenz wind turbine model. The Lenz model has three blades that are attached directly on a vertical shaft. For the numerical simulations of the model, the ANSYS Fluent software is employed. For the evaluation of its self-starting behaviour the six degree of freedom method was employed and the configuration was studied for different moments of inertia. Furthermore, the chosen range of inlet velocities allowed the investigation of the influence of high Reynolds numbers on the proposed Lenz model and the vorticity magnitude contours were computed for different azimuth angles. Future work includes the validation of the numerical results with experimental data obtained during a wind tunnel testing campaign.