Numerical modeling of a sailwing configuration applying fluid-structure-interaction

Abstract

This thesis develops a simulation environment for the fluid-structure interaction of a sail-wing, focusing on its utilization in wind turbines. For this aim, the aerodynamic efficiency and the stall characteristics are the relevant variables to monitor, as determined by previ-ous research. Special attention is paid to the choice of the fluid model by running previous simulations over an airfoil for wind applications, and selecting the Shear Stress Trans-port turbulence model with the Gamma Theta option for the transition model. The fluid-structure interaction is first conducted on a 2-dimensional configuration. The results agree with the expected behavior for sailwings, which have greater aerodynamic efficiency and smoother stall development than a rigid airfoil with an equivalent geometry, leading to an increased output power of the wind turbine. The extended model for the 3-dimensional interaction confirms partially these properties of the sailwings, because due to time and license limitations only few cases could be simulated. Improvements regarding the mate-rial definition and the inflow conditions are still required in order to obtain a more realistic simulation scenario.