Modeling and simulation of shrouded Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine using RANS method

The vast deployment of wind energy leads to its technical maturity and cost reduction that compete with natural gas. Low wind regions can be also targeted when shrouded or optimally designed turbine is utilized. The objective of the present study is to assess the performance of the shrouded Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) numerically subjected to low wind speed. The goal is to develop wind energy technologies that can maximize the power extracted from the turbine under low wind conditions. Three blades horizontal axis wind turbine surrounded with a shroud was tested in the present study. The Reynolds Averaged Navies-Stokes (RANS) modeling approach and finite volume numerical method was used to solve the governing equations. These equations are based on the equations of conservation of mass, momentum and turbulence scalars (k-)The flow field around the wind turbin and inside the shroud was resolved . The induction factor was obtainned from the computed velocity profiles. The turbine power coefficient (Cp) was determined using the induction factor. A comparison between the Cp with and without shroud at different tip speed ratios is presented in the present paper. The results show that the shrouded turbines can generate quadruple of the power of the non-shrouded baseline HAWT.