Análise de um aerogerador de eixo vertical utilizando o método do cilindro atuador e a dinâmica de fluídos computacional (CFD)

Abstract

The energy production coming from renewable sources is growing in the world energy matrix. This is due to the investment in research and technology improvement. In the renewable energy scenario, wind energy is distinguished by the scale of production of the machines. Two models of turbine stand out in this context, the vertical and horizontal axis, the last one being more commercially adopted. Vertical-axis turbines, however, have characteristics that, for certain applications, have advantages. Modeling its behavior to reduce design costs, however, still needs improvement. The understanding of these models is necessary for new research to be developed. The actuator cylinder theory has been gaining prominence in recent years for achieving results with low error and using less computational power. It is also sought the use of computational fluid dynamics to obtain more accurate values. In order to study the behavior of a vertical axis turbine, it is necessary to understand and validate the actuator cylinder theory and improve the results using numerical simulations with help of the free CFD software, OpenFOAM.