[siardica]

Hi all -
Trying to set up a transient simulation in CFX for a 2D slice of a rotating vertical-axis wind turbine (just interested in the airflow features). This particular turbine is designed to operate at a very low rotational speed, with alot of empty space between one blade and the next (3 blades total). The simulation needs to run at least 3 full revolutions in order to capture the details we want.

I have read somewhat conflicting suggestions as to how one should divide the domains, assign boundary conditions, etc. All of these begin with a rectangular outer domain and a circular inner domain (with airfoils/hub cut out); however, from there, I've found instructions to just give the inner domain a rotational velocity, create a subdomain, use a mesh deformation, use a rotating wall, and various combinations of all of these. I've played around with several configurations and intuitively none of the results look correct yet...

Does anyone have sufficient experience with this sort of problem to offer advice as to which set-up is preferable?