Validation of the actuator disc approach in PHOENICS using small scale model wind turbines

In this study two wind turbine setups are investigated numerically: (a) the flow around a single model wind turbine and (b) the wake interaction between two in-line model wind turbines. This is done by using Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and an actuator disc (ACD) technique in the computational fluid dynamics code PHOENICS. The computations are conducted for the design condition of the rotors using four different turbulence closure models. The computed axial velocity field as well as the turbulent kinetic energy are compared with PIV measurements. For the two model wind turbine setup, the thrust and power coefficient are also computed and compared with measurements. The results show that this RANS ACD method is able to predict the overall behaviour of the flow with low computational effort and that the turbulence closure model has a direct effect on the predicted wake development. (paper)