[Danielrs95]

Hello everyone my name is Daniel, I'm a mechanical engineering student and I'm currently working on my thesis about a VAWT (Vertical Axis Water/Wind Turbine) and like many I started from zero and was really difficult to learn Fluent and ANSYS to perform my simulation.

However, I want to help other people that maybe are beginning with their VAWT and also complement my work, I want to create a complete tutorial about how I'm doing my simulation, also help other people and off course if i'm doing something wrong correct it, because I still dont know many things of Fluent, the solver and the theory but I'm studying it.

I expect to being making new posts about how I made my simulation, I hope this post could be read by many people, and excuse me for my bad english.

So, I'm going to talk about something topics

1. Geometry
2. Mesh
3. Set up Fluent -> This is one of the most important and where I still have doubts but we can learn together.
4. Postprocesing

Problem specification
Before we start any tutorial, we need to know our problem, our velocity, rpm, TSR, chord length this is a really hard work, you need to read a lot of papers and understand the aerodynamics of the VAWT (I still studying this, so any doubt don't hesitate in asking!!) After you know all the parameters that are important in the aerodynamics of our VAWT we can start doing the first step, geometry.

1. Geometry
As many of you guys, I also make my geometry in an external CAD, import an CAD to Ansys is really easy, but when I try to make my 2D simulation, I found a big problem, I can't import my SKETCH from INVENTOR so here i will teach you how to do it. I think that for all simulation we should first make a great 2D al later go on with the 3D so that's what I'm doing currently

So, to import the Inventor sketch we open our Workbench and do the following steps (we need to previously create our sketch in our CAD of preference)

1. Double click geometry and the design modeler will open
2. In the design modeler window click File -> Import external geometry file
3. Select your .STEP file and click Open
4. In the Details view, the command named Line Bodies is by default set as NO, change it for YES. Here is a photo if you can't find it easy
   
   
5. Then you press Generate or F5 and voala! you have your Sketch from your CAD now in your Design modeler!!! You get something like this
   
   
   
   

Now the next step is create our surfaces, I hope that this part you can make it easy if you have previously worked with the design modeler, this is the procedure

With all the edges imported from the CAD to the design modeler create the surfaces, use the command Concept->Surfaces from edges this will create all your surfaces but there is a problem there are surfaces overlap so we need to subtract this surfaces, this we will make it with the commando Create->Boolean when you make this steps you will get some geometry like this

Look there we have our 2 surfaces need it to run the simulation, the external domain and the internal domain or rotor domain.

That's all for this post, I hope you guys could use it and again sorry for my english if you have any doubt just comment we can help each other

Have a nice day and take care, Daniel

[Ajinkya Patil]

Hi
Which aerofoil are you you using for analysis and why?
Because i am dealing with same project but I am using NACA 0012

[Danielrs95]

Hi Ajinkya, I'm using the NACA 0025 because there's experimental data about this airfoil so I can compare it with my results. But I have seen also experimental data about 0012. Any question please do it.

Take care, Daniel

[Ajinkya Patil]

Hi,

I want to know which parameters are you going to analyse and optimise. I am designing for 1 kw.

Thanks Daniel

Sent from my CP8298_I00 using CFD Online Forum mobile app

[Danielrs95]

Hi, I'm designing for 500W, I'm using 1.5 m/s as velocity inlet and i'm using water with 998 as density. I'm also using a TSR=1,5 and with this I can know the RPM, so that's all.

I already did my 2D simulation but my Power gets at 300 average so I'm thinking what could I have done bad

Again, sorry for my english I hope you can understand what I just say, If you like you could add me at Skype or even Whatsapp and we can talk and share knowledge

Take care, Daniel

[Ajinkya Patil]

Hi
Why you go with 2D simulation ?

Sent from my CP8298_I00 using CFD Online Forum mobile app

[Danielrs95]

Originally Posted by Ajinkya Patil

Hi
Why you go with 2D simulation ?

Sent from my CP8298_I00 using CFD Online Forum mobile app

Beacuse is easier do it first in 2D and later go on with the 3D that's what I think

[Ajinkya Patil]

9730755166
my WhatsApp no

[FaSe]

Originally Posted by Danielrs95

Hello everyone my name is Daniel, I'm a mechanical engineering student and I'm currently working on my thesis about a VAWT (Vertical Axis Water/Wind Turbine) and like many I started from zero and was really difficult to learn Fluent and ANSYS to perform my simulation.

However, I want to help other people that maybe are beginning with their VAWT and also complement my work, I want to create a complete tutorial about how I'm doing my simulation, also help other people and off course if i'm doing something wrong correct it, because I still dont know many things of Fluent, the solver and the theory but I'm studying it.

I expect to being making new posts about how I made my simulation, I hope this post could be read by many people, and excuse me for my bad english.

So, I'm going to talk about something topics

1. Geometry
2. Mesh
3. Set up Fluent -> This is one of the most important and where I still have doubts but we can learn together.
4. Postprocesing

Problem specification
Before we start any tutorial, we need to know our problem, our velocity, rpm, TSR, chord length this is a really hard work, you need to read a lot of papers and understand the aerodynamics of the VAWT (I still studying this, so any doubt don't hesitate in asking!!) After you know all the parameters that are important in the aerodynamics of our VAWT we can start doing the first step, geometry.

1. Geometry
As many of you guys, I also make my geometry in an external CAD, import an CAD to Ansys is really easy, but when I try to make my 2D simulation, I found a big problem, I can't import my SKETCH from INVENTOR so here i will teach you how to do it. I think that for all simulation we should first make a great 2D al later go on with the 3D so that's what I'm doing currently

So, to import the Inventor sketch we open our Workbench and do the following steps (we need to previously create our sketch in our CAD of preference)

1. Double click geometry and the design modeler will open
2. In the design modeler window click File -> Import external geometry file
3. Select your .STEP file and click Open
4. In the Details view, the command named Line Bodies is by default set as NO, change it for YES. Here is a photo if you can't find it easy
   
   
5. Then you press Generate or F5 and voala! you have your Sketch from your CAD now in your Design modeler!!! You get something like this
   
   
   
   

Now the next step is create our surfaces, I hope that this part you can make it easy if you have previously worked with the design modeler, this is the procedure

With all the edges imported from the CAD to the design modeler create the surfaces, use the command Concept->Surfaces from edges this will create all your surfaces but there is a problem there are surfaces overlap so we need to subtract this surfaces, this we will make it with the commando Create->Boolean when you make this steps you will get some geometry like this

Look there we have our 2 surfaces need it to run the simulation, the external domain and the internal domain or rotor domain.

That's all for this post, I hope you guys could use it and again sorry for my english if you have any doubt just comment we can help each other

Have a nice day and take care, Daniel

Hi Daniel,
What about the rest of tutorial? set up Fluent?