A Computational Fluid Dynamics Comparison of Wells Turbine Blades in 2D and 3D Cascade Flow

This paper deals with the application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to the analysis of the aerodynamic characteristics of symmetrical airfoil blades in 2-Dimensional cascade flow. Theoretical two dimensional cascade analyses of Wells Turbines blade profiles have been used in the past to predict the performance of three-dimensional turbines. The use of two-dimensional cascade models is beneficial as it allows the analysis and optimisation of the blade profile with approximately one tenth the computational requirements of a three-dimensional model. The primary objective of this work was to provide further validation of the use of two dimensional cascade models by comparing the computational predictions with traditional theoretical calculation results and also with three-dimensional turbine results. A secondary objective was to use the two dimensional cascade models to better understand the blade interaction effects that occur in the Wells Turbine. The model was used to analyse and compare three different blade profiles at different cascade settings. This paper presents the results of the numerical investigation, the validation of the results and the subsequent analysis.