A simplified vortex method for wind turbine simulation

A new vortex model for wind turbines was developed in order to evaluate the loads at the blades and other important characteristics of interest for the wind industry such as power and thrust coefficients. Nowadays, the calculation of these quantaties is done in a reliable and precise manner with LES simulation using actuator line or actuator disk models. However, LES simulations are computationally heavy and the model here developed aims at calculating the same quantities of interest in less time but still giving reliable and accurate results for any wind turbine model. The idea of a vortex model for wind turbines was developed by Segalini & Aöfredsson, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 725, pages 91-116, 2013, using vortex filaments to reproduce the vorticity on the blades and in the wake. Nevertheless, that model had some limitations, among which, the main one, was the impossibility to simluate wind turbines with varying circulation along the blade, something that is always present in reality. With this thesis it is proposed a model based on the one of Segalini & Alfredsson (2013) but with the introduction of a vortex sheet that allows to simulate a vorticity release from the wind turbine blades and hence wind turbines with varying circulation along the blades. The model was validated against a LES simulation of the Tjaereborg wind turbine by Sarmast, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2014, that utilized an actuator line model. The results confirmed the improvement of the vortex model compared to the previous one of Segalini & Alfredsson (2013) and gave consistent results regarding the flow field at the rotor plane and the loads on the blades