垂直轴风机簇是一种将多台垂直轴风机安装在同一基础上的浮式结构,旨在提高海洋空间利用率和降低浮式风电成本。簇中风机不同的布置方式以及浮动平台纵摇运动均会影响风机的发电效率。为研究其中的联合影响机理,该文构建了单台风机和垂直轴风机簇的三维计算流体动力学模型,首先计算了单台风机在不同叶尖速比下的功率系数,通过与试验结果的对比验证数值建模方法的准确性,然后在流体域中引入第二台风机形成风机簇,并在其基础底部施加周期性纵摇运动,以研究纵摇运动下双转子浮式垂直轴风机簇的2种典型布置方式(并排和错排),并分析并排或错排布置时,3种旋转方式下的流场特性和功率变化规律。结果表明,纵摇运动显著影响风机簇中各风机的转矩峰值和谷值,进而对风机的功率产生影响; 在纵摇运动条件下,并排、错排布置的风机簇的平均功率均高于单台固定风机,最大增幅可达6.69%; 风机簇中风机的旋转方式对并排和错排布置风机的功率系数均有一定影响,但对错排布置中的风机影响更为显著。
Objective: The vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) cluster is a floating structure that integrates multiple VAWTs onto a single foundation. This design aims to maximize marine space utilization and lower the cost of floating wind power generation. The internal layout of the wind turbines and the pitching motion of the floating platform can both significantly impact the power generation efficiency of the turbines. To examine these combined effects, this study constructs three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics models for both a single wind turbine and a VAWT cluster. Methods: These models use an H-type straight-bladed turbine. The pitching motion follows a simple harmonic motion pattern with a constant period and amplitude.The computational domain for the VAWT cluster includes a stationary rectangular background domain and two movable cylindrical rotating domains. A cut-cell mesh is applied to the background domain, while polyhedral meshes are used in the rotating domains to reduce discretization errors and enhance computational accuracy. Additionally, dense prismatic boundary layer meshes are generated near the turbine blades, and local mesh refinement is introduced around the turbine wakes and rotor areas to capture flow details more accurately. Data exchange between the stationary and rotating domains is achieved using overlapping mesh techniques. The independence of the mesh is verified by evaluating the simulated instantaneous power coefficients of three mesh configurations with varying grid densities. The power coefficient for a single wind turbine is calculated across different tip-speed ratios, and the numerical modeling method is validated by comparing these results with experimental data. Subsequently, a second wind turbine is introduced into the fluid domain to form a cluster, and periodic pitching motion is applied to the cluster base. Two typical layouts (side-by-side and staggered) of the dual-rotor floating VAWT cluster are analyzed under pitching motion. Flow field characteristics and power variation patterns are examined under three rotation modes for each layout. Results: The side-by-side layout demonstrates a 5.64% maximum increase in average power coefficient during the pitching period, while the staggered layout achieves a 6.69% increase. The increases in the average power coefficient during the pitching period for the three rotation modes are 4.04%, 5.21%, and 5.64%, respectively. However, in the staggered layout, the downstream turbine is affected by the tip vortices of the upstream turbine, and the rotation mode has a more significant impact. The corresponding power coefficient increases are 5.35%, 6.69%, and 3.36%, respectively. Conclusions: Both side-by-side and staggered layouts deliver better power performance compared to a single fixed wind turbine. The rotation mode of the turbines weakly affects the average power coefficient of the side-by-side dual-rotor wind turbine cluster. Pitching motion significantly affects turbine rotor torque at both peak and valley positions. When the turbine swings into the wind, the peak positive torque increases significantly. Conversely, when it swings downwind, the peak positive torque decreases, but the valley negative torque also decreases. The overall efficiency of positive and negative torques within a pitching cycle is higher than that of a single fixed wind turbine.