Research Article

Dynamic performance analysis of renewable energy fan based on CFD simulation

¹ Science and Technology Research Institute (STRI), China Three Gorges Corporation, Beijing, 101149, PR China
² Three Geoges Jinsha River Yunchuan Hydropower Development Co., Ltd.. Kunming, Yunnan, 650000, China
³ School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074, PR China
⁴ Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, UTBM, CNRS, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne ICB UMR 6303, 90010 Belfort, France
⁵ Université Bourgogne Europe, CNRS, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne ICB UMR 6303, 21000 Dijon, France

^* e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 11 June 2025
Accepted: 22 October 2025

Abstract

Based on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation technology, this article proposes three key innovations in CFD based aerodynamic analysis of renewable energy wind turbines: firstly, integrating real wind field data processed by WRT (Wind Field Data Processing Technology) into the numerical model, significantly improving the authenticity of the simulation; Secondly, it was verified through system comparison that the SST turbulence model has higher accuracy in simulating axial flow fans compared to the standard kappa − ε model, with an average error controlled within 12%; Finally, the quantitative relationship between terrain undulation and wind turbine performance was revealed through multi scenario simulation, providing important basis for optimizing wind turbine layout in this paper. By constructing a high-precision numerical model and combining with the actual wind field data, we successfully simulated the operation of the fan under different wind speeds, wind directions and terrain conditions, thus comprehensively evaluating its aerodynamic performance. In the simulation process, we focus on the key indicators such as power output, efficiency and wind energy utilization coefficient of the wind turbine. After a large number of data analysis and comparison, we found that CFD is used for numerical simulation and experimental verification of fan. Taking air volume and energy efficiency ratio as verification indexes, the simulated value of turbulence model SST (Shear Stress Transport) is closer to the experimental value, and the average relative error between the simulated value of air volume and the experimental value is 11.9%, and the average relative error between the simulated value of energy efficiency ratio and the experimental value is 12.7%. In addition, with the increase of wind speed, the power output of wind turbine shows an obvious upward trend, but the growth rate gradually slows down, which accords with the general law of wind energy conversion. In addition to the wind speed factors, the geometry of fan blades, the installation angle and the mutual interference between fans are also deeply studied. By adjusting these parameters, we successfully optimize the aerodynamic performance of the fan, so that it can maintain efficient and stable operation under a wider range of wind conditions. In addition, this paper also innovatively studies the aerodynamic performance of the fan under different terrain conditions. We found that the terrain relief, obstacles distribution and other factors will have a significant impact on the performance of the fan. Therefore, in the process of site selection and layout of fans, it is necessary to fully consider terrain factors to ensure the best performance of fans.