Modelling of rotating vertical axis turbines using a multiphase finite element method

We combine the unified continuum fluid-structure interaction method  with a multiphase flow model to simulate turbulent flow and fluid-structure interaction of rotating vertical axis turbines in offshore environments. This work is part of a project funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, which focuses on energy systems combining ecological sustainability, competitiveness and reliability of supply. The numerical methods used comprise the Galerkin least-squares finite element method, coupled with the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method, in order to compute weak solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations for high Reynolds numbers on moving meshes. The simulations have been performed using the Unicorn solver in the FEniCS-HPC framework, which runs on supercomputers with near optimal weak and strong scaling up to thousands of cores.​