Aerodynamic simulation of the MEXICO rotor

CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations are a very promising method for predicting the aerodynamic behavior of wind turbines in an inexpensive and accurate way. One of the major drawbacks of this method is the lack of validated models. As a consequence, the reliability of numerical results is often difficult to assess. The MEXICO project aimed at solving this problem by providing the project partners with high quality measurements of a 4.5 meters rotor diameter wind turbine operating under controlled conditions. The large measurement data-set allows the validation of all kind of aerodynamic models. This work summarizes our efforts for validating a CFD model based on the open source software OpenFoam. Both steady- state and time-accurate simulations have been performed with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model for several operating conditions. In this paper we will concentrate on axisymmetric inflow for 3 different wind speeds. The numerical results are compared with pressure distributions from several blade sections and PIV-flow data from the near wake region. In general, a reasonable agreement between measurements the and our simulations exists. Some discrepancies, which require further research, are also discussed.