Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Wind & Water Computer-Aided Engineering Software Tools
1

Hello all,

I wonder if FAST is able to simulate a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine of the Darrieus-H Type with flexible components. Can anyone answer?
If no, is there any other free or commercial code, that is able to help me with that topic?
Also it would be interesting to know if there are any aerodynamic models that capture the aerodynamic behavior of a VAWT.

Best regards,

Simon

2

Dear Simon,

NREL has not done much recently with vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) and does not currently supply software for VAWTs.

However, Sandia National Laboratory in the US has developed the OWENS code for floating VAWT analysis. I’m not sure if it is publicly available, but I believe that was the intent. More information may be found here: energy.sandia.gov/energy/renewab … ne-rotors/.

Best regards,