Acoustic (FWH) Investigation on a HAWT, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation Tutorial

Description

In this simulation, the acoustic performance of a wind turbine and the noises created by it at different points of its surrounding domain have been investigated in a transient state with the help of ANSYS Fluent software.

This turbine rotates at a speed of 72 radians/second around the horizontal axis. A stream of air moves towards it at a speed of 15 meters/second. Several points in front and behind the turbine have been selected for investigation. The acoustic parameters in this Project have been compared with the ‘Acoustic (Broadband) Investigation on a HAWT, ANSYS Fluent CFD Simulation Tutorial‘ Project.

It should be mentioned that in this model, the points can be created in the Acoustic Model-Define Receivers tab. Also, the source of noise, the wind turbine’s Surface, is available for selection in the Acoustic Model- Define Resources tab.

Design modeler software was used to model the geometry of this problem, and ANSYS meshing software was also used to mesh this geometry. The type of elements is Tetrahedral, and their final number is 2,696,011.

This product is the 5th episode of the Acoustic Model Training Course.

Methodology: Acoustic (FWH) Investigation on a HAWT

The Ffowcs Williams & Hawkings acoustic model has been used for acoustic modeling. Also, the MRF method has been used in Cell Zone Conditions for turbine rotation.

The used turbulence model is K-ω SST.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Acoustic parameters of the solution include the following parameters in the defined points are extracted separately:

• Surface dpdt RMS
• Static Pressure
• Sound Pressure Level (dbA)
• …

It can also be seen that the value of the Surface dpdt RMS parameter is higher in the parts of the edge of the turbine that is far from the hub and consequently have a higher magnitude velocity and are also in contact with the wind flow.

You can compare the parameters of this Project with the mentioned Project in the description, which is the same model but solved using the Broadband Model.

Finally, the final calculation’s contours, plots, pathlines and FFTs are achieved, and they are visible as figures.