Numerical simulation for unsteady flow over marine current turbine rotors

Abstract

The numerous benefits of Savonius turbine such as simple in structure, has appropriate self-start ability, relatively low operating velocity, water acceptance from any direction and low environmental impact have generated interests among researchers. However, it suffers from a lower efficiency compared to other types of water turbine. To improve its performance, parameters such flow pattern, pressure and velocity in different conditions must be analyzed. For this purpose, a detailed description on the flow field of various types of Savonius rotors is required. This article presents a numerical study on a nonlinear two-dimensional flow over a classic Savonius type rotor and a Benesh type rotor. In this experiment, sliding mesh was used for solving the motion of the bucket. The unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations were solved for velocity and pressure coupling by using the SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure linked Equations) algorithm. Other than that, the turbulence model using k-e standard obtained good results. This simulation demonstrated the method of the flow field characteristics, the behavior of velocity vectors and pressure distribution contours in and around the areas of the bucket.