A helicopter rotor in descent flight encounters its own wake, resulting in a doughnut-shaped ring around the rotor disk, known as the Vortex Ring State (VRS). Flight in VRS condition can be dangerous as it may cause uncommanded drop in descent rate, loss of control effectiveness, power settling, excessive thrust and torque fluctuations, and vibration. As simple momentum theory is no longer valid for a rotor in VRS, modeling of rotor inflow in VRS continues to challenge researchers, especially for flight simulation applications. In this dissertation, a simplified inflow model, called the ring vortex model, is developed for a helicopter rotor operating in descent condition. By creating a series of vortex rings near the rotor disk, the ring vortex model addresses the strong flow interaction between the rotor wake and the surrounding airflow in descent flight. In addition, the total mass flow parameter in the existing inflow models is augmented to create a steady state transition between the helicopter and the windmill branches. With the ring vortex model, rotor inflow can now be adequately predicted over a wide range of descent rates. Validations of the ring vortex model for helicopter rotors are conducted extensively in axial and inclined descent. Effects from blade taper, blade twist, and rotor thrust are also investigated with further application of the finite-state inflow model. The ring vortex model is applied to a single main-rotor helicopter. The main effort is to establish VRS boundary based on heave stability criterion. In addition, two important phenomena observed in the descent flight tests are addressed in the dynamic simulation, including uncommanded drop in descent rate and loss of collective control effectiveness. The ring vortex model is further applied to a side-by-side rotor configuration. Lateral thrust asymmetry on the side-by-side rotor configuration can be reproduced through uneven distribution of vortex rings at the two rotors. Two important issues are investigated, including the impact of vortex rings on lateral thrust deficit and on lateral AFCS limit.

The objective of this project was to contribute to deepen the piece of knowledge about swi¬rling movement of the water in the hydraulic power plants’ water intakes, especially in case of the Swirl Turbine. The vortexes mostly occur near outflow holes in the bottom or walls of water tanks. Collectively they are called inflow vortices. According to the form they take they can be divided into four main categories. By the model research on hydraulic power plants’ inflow it is generally concerned on determination enough infallible conditions, under which the pulling-in of the air by a vortex into an inflow does not happen. For this purpose has been in the Fluid engineering laboratory projected and realized an experimental device enabling observation of creation, spread and extinction of the inflow vortices.

This thesis combines measurements with the development of simulation tools for vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT). Numerical models of aerodynamic blade forces are developed and validated against experiments. The studies were made on VAWTs which were operated at open sites. Significant progress within the modeling of aerodynamics of VAWTs has been achieved by the development of new simulation tools and by conducting experimental studies.         An existing dynamic stall model was investigated and further modified for the conditions of the VAWT operation. This model was coupled with a streamtube model and assessed against blade force measurements from a VAWT with curved blades, operated by Sandia National Laboratories. The comparison has shown that the accuracy of the streamtube model has been improved compared to its previous versions. The dynamic stall model was further modified by coupling it with a free vortex model. The new model has become less dependent on empirical constants and has shown an improved accuracy.     Unique blade force measurements on a 12 kW VAWT were conducted. The turbine was operated north of Uppsala. Load cells were used to measure the forces on the turbine. A comprehensive analysis of the measurement accuracy has been performed and the major error sources have been identified. The measured aerodynamic normal force has been presented and analyzed for a wide range of operational conditions including dynamic stall, nominal operation and the region of high flow expansion. The improved vortex model has been validated against the data from the new measurements. The model agrees quite well with the experiments for the regions of nominal operation and high flow expansion. Although it does not reproduce all measurements in great detail, it is suggested that the presented vortex model can be used for preliminary estimations of blade forces due to its high computational speed and reasonable accuracy.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo estudar escoamentos de tornados e sua ação sobre corpos imersos empregando ferramentas numéricas da Engenharia do Vento Computacional (EVC). Os tornados constituem-se atualmente em uma das causas de desastres naturais no Brasil, especialmente nas regiões sul e sudeste do país, como também em alguns países vizinhos. Os efeitos gerados são geralmente localizados e de curta duração, podendo ser devastadores dependendo da escala do tornado. Tais características dificultam a realização de estudos detalhados a partir de eventos reais, o que levou ao desenvolvimento de modelos experimentais e numéricos. A abordagem numérica é utilizada neste trabalho para a simulação de tornados, a qual se baseia nas equações de Navier-Stokes e na equação de conservação de massa, considerando a hipótese de pseudo-compressibilidade e condições isotérmicas. Para escoamentos com turbulência utiliza-se a Simulação Direta de Grandes Escalas com o modelo clássico de Smagorinsky para as escalas inferiores à resolução da malha (Large Eddy Simulation ou LES em inglês). A discretização das equações fundamentais do escoamento se realiza com um esquema explícito de dois passos de Taylor-Galerkin, onde o Método dos Elementos Finitos é empregado na discretização espacial utilizando-se o elemento hexaédrico trilinear isoparamétrico com um ponto de integração e controle de modos espúrios Na presença de corpos imersos que se movem para simular os deslocamentos dos tornados, o escoamento é descrito cinematicamente através de uma formulação Arbitrária Lagrangeana-Euleriana (ALE) que inclui um esquema de movimento de malha. Tornados são reproduzidos através da simulação numérica de dispositivos experimentais e do Modelo de Vórtice Combinado de Rankine (RCVM). Exemplos clássicos da Dinâmica dos Fluidos Computacional são apresentados inicialmente para a verificação das ferramentas numéricas implementadas. Finalmente, problemas envolvendo tornados móveis e estacionários são analisados, incluindo sua ação sobre corpos imersos. Nos modelos baseados em experimentos, a variação da relação de redemoinho determinou os diferentes padrões de escoamento observados no laboratório. Nos exemplos de modelo de vórtice, quando o tornado impactou o corpo imerso gerou picos de forças em todas as direções e, após a passar pelo mesmo, produziu uma alteração significativa na estrutura do vórtice. / Analyses of tornado flows and its action on immersed bodies using numerical tools of Computational Wind Engineering (CWE) are the main aims of the present work. Tornadoes are currently one of the causes of natural disasters in Brazil, occurring more frequently in the southern and southeastern regions of the country, as well as in some neighboring countries. Effects are usually localized, presenting a short time interval, which can be devastating depending on the scale of the tornado. These characteristics difficult to carry out detailed studies based on real events, leading to the development of experimental and numerical models. The numerical approach is used in this work for the simulation of tornadoes, which is based on the Navier-Stokes equations and the mass conservation equation, considering the hypothesis of pseudo-compressibility and isothermal conditions. For turbulent flows, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is used with the classical Smagorinsky model for sub-grid scales Discretization is performed the explicit two-step Taylor-Galerkin scheme, where the Finite Element Method is used in spatial discretization using isoparametric trilinear hexahedral elements with one-point quadrature and hourglass control. In the presence of immersed bodies that are moving in order to simulate translating tornadoes, the flow is kinematically described through a Lagrangian-Eulerian Arbitrary (ALE) formulation, which includes a mesh motion scheme. Tornadoes are reproduced using numerical simulation of experimental devices and the Rankine Combined Vortex Model (RCVM). Classical examples of Computational Fluid Dynamics are presented initially for the verification of the numerical tools implemented here. Finally, problems involving moving and stationary tornadoes are analyzed, including their actions on immersed bodies. For models based on experiments, the variation of the swirl ratio determined the different flow patterns observed in the laboratory. In the vortex model examples, when the tornado impacted on the immersed body, peaks of forces were generated in all directions and, after passing over it, a significant change in the structure of the vortex was produced.

Two computationally fast fluid mechanical models for vertical axis turbines are the streamtube and the vortex model. The streamtube model is the fastest, allowing three-dimensional modeling of the turbine, but lacks a proper time-dependent description of the flow through the turbine. The vortex model used is two-dimensional, but gives a more complete time-dependent description of the flow. Effects of a velocity profile and the inclusion of struts have been investigated with the streamtube model. Simulations with an inhomogeneous velocity profile predict that the power coefficient of a vertical axis turbine is relatively insensitive to the velocity profile. For the struts, structural mechanic loads have been computed and the calculations show that if turbines are designed for high flow velocities, additional struts are required, reducing the efficiency for lower flow velocities.Turbines in channels and turbine arrays have been studied with the vortex model. The channel study shows that smaller channels give higher power coefficients and convergence is obtained in fewer time steps. Simulations on a turbine array were performed on five turbines in a row and in a zigzag configuration, where better performance is predicted for the row configuration. The row configuration was extended to ten turbines and it has been shown that the turbine spacing needs to be increased if the misalignment in flow direction is large.A control system for the turbine with only the rotational velocity as input has been studied using the vortex model coupled with an electrical model. According to simulations, this system can obtain power coefficients close to the theoretical peak values. This control system study has been extended to a turbine farm. Individual control of each turbine has been compared to a less costly control system where all turbines are connected to a mutual DC bus through passive rectifiers. The individual control performs best for aerodynamically independent turbines, but for aerodynamically coupled turbines, the results show that a mutual DC bus can be a viable option.Finally, an implementation of the fast multipole method has been made on a graphics processing unit (GPU) and the performance gain from this platform is demonstrated.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo estudar escoamentos de tornados e sua ação sobre corpos imersos empregando ferramentas numéricas da Engenharia do Vento Computacional (EVC). Os tornados constituem-se atualmente em uma das causas de desastres naturais no Brasil, especialmente nas regiões sul e sudeste do país, como também em alguns países vizinhos. Os efeitos gerados são geralmente localizados e de curta duração, podendo ser devastadores dependendo da escala do tornado. Tais características dificultam a realização de estudos detalhados a partir de eventos reais, o que levou ao desenvolvimento de modelos experimentais e numéricos. A abordagem numérica é utilizada neste trabalho para a simulação de tornados, a qual se baseia nas equações de Navier-Stokes e na equação de conservação de massa, considerando a hipótese de pseudo-compressibilidade e condições isotérmicas. Para escoamentos com turbulência utiliza-se a Simulação Direta de Grandes Escalas com o modelo clássico de Smagorinsky para as escalas inferiores à resolução da malha (Large Eddy Simulation ou LES em inglês). A discretização das equações fundamentais do escoamento se realiza com um esquema explícito de dois passos de Taylor-Galerkin, onde o Método dos Elementos Finitos é empregado na discretização espacial utilizando-se o elemento hexaédrico trilinear isoparamétrico com um ponto de integração e controle de modos espúrios Na presença de corpos imersos que se movem para simular os deslocamentos dos tornados, o escoamento é descrito cinematicamente através de uma formulação Arbitrária Lagrangeana-Euleriana (ALE) que inclui um esquema de movimento de malha. Tornados são reproduzidos através da simulação numérica de dispositivos experimentais e do Modelo de Vórtice Combinado de Rankine (RCVM). Exemplos clássicos da Dinâmica dos Fluidos Computacional são apresentados inicialmente para a verificação das ferramentas numéricas implementadas. Finalmente, problemas envolvendo tornados móveis e estacionários são analisados, incluindo sua ação sobre corpos imersos. Nos modelos baseados em experimentos, a variação da relação de redemoinho determinou os diferentes padrões de escoamento observados no laboratório. Nos exemplos de modelo de vórtice, quando o tornado impactou o corpo imerso gerou picos de forças em todas as direções e, após a passar pelo mesmo, produziu uma alteração significativa na estrutura do vórtice. / Analyses of tornado flows and its action on immersed bodies using numerical tools of Computational Wind Engineering (CWE) are the main aims of the present work. Tornadoes are currently one of the causes of natural disasters in Brazil, occurring more frequently in the southern and southeastern regions of the country, as well as in some neighboring countries. Effects are usually localized, presenting a short time interval, which can be devastating depending on the scale of the tornado. These characteristics difficult to carry out detailed studies based on real events, leading to the development of experimental and numerical models. The numerical approach is used in this work for the simulation of tornadoes, which is based on the Navier-Stokes equations and the mass conservation equation, considering the hypothesis of pseudo-compressibility and isothermal conditions. For turbulent flows, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is used with the classical Smagorinsky model for sub-grid scales Discretization is performed the explicit two-step Taylor-Galerkin scheme, where the Finite Element Method is used in spatial discretization using isoparametric trilinear hexahedral elements with one-point quadrature and hourglass control. In the presence of immersed bodies that are moving in order to simulate translating tornadoes, the flow is kinematically described through a Lagrangian-Eulerian Arbitrary (ALE) formulation, which includes a mesh motion scheme. Tornadoes are reproduced using numerical simulation of experimental devices and the Rankine Combined Vortex Model (RCVM). Classical examples of Computational Fluid Dynamics are presented initially for the verification of the numerical tools implemented here. Finally, problems involving moving and stationary tornadoes are analyzed, including their actions on immersed bodies. For models based on experiments, the variation of the swirl ratio determined the different flow patterns observed in the laboratory. In the vortex model examples, when the tornado impacted on the immersed body, peaks of forces were generated in all directions and, after passing over it, a significant change in the structure of the vortex was produced.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo estudar escoamentos de tornados e sua ação sobre corpos imersos empregando ferramentas numéricas da Engenharia do Vento Computacional (EVC). Os tornados constituem-se atualmente em uma das causas de desastres naturais no Brasil, especialmente nas regiões sul e sudeste do país, como também em alguns países vizinhos. Os efeitos gerados são geralmente localizados e de curta duração, podendo ser devastadores dependendo da escala do tornado. Tais características dificultam a realização de estudos detalhados a partir de eventos reais, o que levou ao desenvolvimento de modelos experimentais e numéricos. A abordagem numérica é utilizada neste trabalho para a simulação de tornados, a qual se baseia nas equações de Navier-Stokes e na equação de conservação de massa, considerando a hipótese de pseudo-compressibilidade e condições isotérmicas. Para escoamentos com turbulência utiliza-se a Simulação Direta de Grandes Escalas com o modelo clássico de Smagorinsky para as escalas inferiores à resolução da malha (Large Eddy Simulation ou LES em inglês). A discretização das equações fundamentais do escoamento se realiza com um esquema explícito de dois passos de Taylor-Galerkin, onde o Método dos Elementos Finitos é empregado na discretização espacial utilizando-se o elemento hexaédrico trilinear isoparamétrico com um ponto de integração e controle de modos espúrios Na presença de corpos imersos que se movem para simular os deslocamentos dos tornados, o escoamento é descrito cinematicamente através de uma formulação Arbitrária Lagrangeana-Euleriana (ALE) que inclui um esquema de movimento de malha. Tornados são reproduzidos através da simulação numérica de dispositivos experimentais e do Modelo de Vórtice Combinado de Rankine (RCVM). Exemplos clássicos da Dinâmica dos Fluidos Computacional são apresentados inicialmente para a verificação das ferramentas numéricas implementadas. Finalmente, problemas envolvendo tornados móveis e estacionários são analisados, incluindo sua ação sobre corpos imersos. Nos modelos baseados em experimentos, a variação da relação de redemoinho determinou os diferentes padrões de escoamento observados no laboratório. Nos exemplos de modelo de vórtice, quando o tornado impactou o corpo imerso gerou picos de forças em todas as direções e, após a passar pelo mesmo, produziu uma alteração significativa na estrutura do vórtice. / Analyses of tornado flows and its action on immersed bodies using numerical tools of Computational Wind Engineering (CWE) are the main aims of the present work. Tornadoes are currently one of the causes of natural disasters in Brazil, occurring more frequently in the southern and southeastern regions of the country, as well as in some neighboring countries. Effects are usually localized, presenting a short time interval, which can be devastating depending on the scale of the tornado. These characteristics difficult to carry out detailed studies based on real events, leading to the development of experimental and numerical models. The numerical approach is used in this work for the simulation of tornadoes, which is based on the Navier-Stokes equations and the mass conservation equation, considering the hypothesis of pseudo-compressibility and isothermal conditions. For turbulent flows, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is used with the classical Smagorinsky model for sub-grid scales Discretization is performed the explicit two-step Taylor-Galerkin scheme, where the Finite Element Method is used in spatial discretization using isoparametric trilinear hexahedral elements with one-point quadrature and hourglass control. In the presence of immersed bodies that are moving in order to simulate translating tornadoes, the flow is kinematically described through a Lagrangian-Eulerian Arbitrary (ALE) formulation, which includes a mesh motion scheme. Tornadoes are reproduced using numerical simulation of experimental devices and the Rankine Combined Vortex Model (RCVM). Classical examples of Computational Fluid Dynamics are presented initially for the verification of the numerical tools implemented here. Finally, problems involving moving and stationary tornadoes are analyzed, including their actions on immersed bodies. For models based on experiments, the variation of the swirl ratio determined the different flow patterns observed in the laboratory. In the vortex model examples, when the tornado impacted on the immersed body, peaks of forces were generated in all directions and, after passing over it, a significant change in the structure of the vortex was produced.

The optimization of new generation of the wind farms is dependent on our understanding of wind turbine wake development, wake dynamics and the interaction of the wakes. The overall goal of the optimization is decreasing the fatigue loading and increasing the power production of the wind farms. To this end, numerical simulations of the wake of wind turbine are performed by means of applying fourth order finite volume code, EllipSys3D along with the actuator line method. The basic idea behind such actuator line method is representing the blades  by employing the body forces in the Navier--Stokes equations. The forces are then determined through a combination of Blade Element Momentum (BEM) method and tabulated airfoil data. In the first part of thesis, the dynamics of the tip vortices behind a single wind turbine is investigated. The generated wind turbine wake is perturbed using small amplitude disturbances. The amplification of the wave along the spiral triggers some modes leading to wake instability. The perturbed wake is then analyzed using modal decomposition in which  the dominant modes leading to the onset of instability can be identified. Two different cases are studied; symmetric configuration, in that the wake is excited by identical perturbation near each blade tip; and non-symmetric configuration, in which general perturbations are used. The corresponding result confirms that the instability is dispersive and the growth occurs only for specific frequencies in symmetric case. However in general non-symmetric case, all the modes have positive spatial growth rate. This can be explained through the fact that breaking the symmetry results in superposition of the unstable modes related to three-bladed, two-bladed and one-blade wind turbine wake. A rotor experiment has been recently carried out at NTNU wind tunnel using horizontal axis model scale rotors, for detailed investigation of the wake development. A single rotor configuration was first tested and then a setup of two rotors inline was investigated.  Previous numerical investigation of single wind turbine wake using actuator line method shows that the quality of the result depend on the input tabulated airfoil data. Due to absence of the reliable data, a series of experiments using 2-D airfoil were carried out at DTU wind tunnel to obtain the tabulated airfoil data for the Reynolds number corresponding to NTNU rotor operating conditions. The numerical simulations using actuator line method together with the new experimental airfoil data were then carried out for studying the  phenomenon of wake interaction between the two wind turbines. Different cases are simulated with various tip speed ratio of the downstream turbine specifically adjusted to match the NTNU experiments. The characteristics of the interacting wakes were extracted including the rotor performance and the averaged velocity and turbulence fields as well as the development of wake generated vortex structures. The obtained  results were in agreement of NTNU experimental data showing that  numerical computations are reliable tools for prediction of wind turbine aerodynamics. The third aim of the project is to perform a comparison between an analytical vortex model and the actuator line of an isolated horizontal axis wind turbine (simulated with the ACL approach) to assess whether the predictions by the vortex model can substitute more expensive CFD approaches. The model is based on the constant circulation along three blade (Joukowsky rotor) and it is able to determine the geometry of the tip vortex filament in the rotor wake, allowing the free wake expansion and changing the local tip-vortex pitch. Two different wind turbines have been simulated: one with constant circulation along the blade, to replicate the vortex method approximations, and the other with a realistic circulation distribution, to compare the outcomes of the vortex model with real operative wind turbine conditions (Tj\ae reborg wind turbine). The vortex model matched the numerical simulation of the turbine withconstant blade circulation in terms of the near wake structure and the local forces along the blade. The simple vortex codeis therefore able to provide an estimation of the flow around the wind turbine similar to the actuator line code but with anegligible computational effort. The results from the Tj\ae reborg turbine case showed some discrepancies between the twoapproaches although the overall agreement is qualitatively good. This could be considered as a validation for the analytical method for more general conditions. / <p>QC 20130412</p> / Nordic Consortium: Optimization and Control of large wind farms

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 &amp; 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 &amp; 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 &amp; Alfredsson (2013) and gave consistent results regarding the flow field at the rotor plane and the loads on the blades.