THE EFFECT OF INFLOW TURBULENCE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL-SCALE WIND TURBINE

Elmeselhi, Mohamed Fakhr Eldin; Abd ELrahman, Mohamed Ahmed; Emam, Mohamed Elsayed; Moawad, Mohamed

doi:10.21608/auej.2025.245905.1457

THE EFFECT OF INFLOW TURBULENCE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL-SCALE WIND TURBINE

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shoubra Faculty of Engineering, Benha University,11629, Egypt

² Combustion and Energy Technology Lab, Mechanical Engineering Department, Shoubra Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Egypt

10.21608/auej.2025.245905.1457

Abstract

The current study explores the impact of inflow turbulence on the operation of a small-scale wind turbine With regard to coefficient of power and wake recovery location on various terrains representing different topographical locations. A comprehensive 3D model is developed and validated to simulate the small-scale horizontal axis wind turbine's aerodynamic performance operating in an atmospheric boundary layer caused by surfaces with various aerodynamic roughness lengths. The k-ω SST turbulence model is utilized to solve transient Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations, revealing critical wake characteristics as air velocity and turbulence intensity recovery. Air velocity behind wind turbines is accelerated by increasing input turbulence, per the study., with smooth surfaces recovering after over twenty times the turbine diameter. Changing tip speed ratio has minimal impact on the coefficient of power, except for a marginal 6 percent improvement at the 3 and 7.1 ends. By evaluating the viability of putting turbines behind the front row for the best coefficient of power and lowest operating and maintenance costs, the research seeks to improve wind farm efficiency.

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