Abstract
It is effective to estimate the rotor performance of large scale wind turbines such as 10 MW-class wind turbines using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), since it is necessary to capture complex flow fields in order to estimate the performance precisely. The CFD analysis targeted small scale wind turbines has been conducted and the results are consistent with those of wind tunnel tests. When applying the analysis conditions used in the CFD analysis of small scale wind turbines to that of large scale wind turbines, the effect caused by the difference of Reynolds number should be considered. In this study, we executed CFD analysis targeted 10 MW-class wind turbine with the analysis conditions used in the analysis of small scale wind turbines, then we validated the applicability of the analysis conditions through the comparison of the results between CFD and Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEM). Consequently, the stability of CFD analysis using analysis conditions of small scale wind turbines and the possibility of capturing the properties of complex flow fields using CFD are shown.
