Advanced prediction methods for aircraft and vertical axis wind turbine design

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Based on previous achievements, the research proposed in this application will be focused on the development of existent or new models and methods, with enhanced capabilities, for the simulation of icing & anti-icing phenomena and vertical axis wind turbine performance prediction and optimization.Being a major hazard in-flight icing is included in the aircraft design, certification and operating regulations. For designers and certification authorities the numerical simulation of airframe icing is becoming a more affordable alternative to wind tunnel experiments or flight tests. Current two and three dimensional icing codes are very useful, but their accuracy needs further improvement. Ice growth physics must be realistically modeled, with accreted shape/flow field iteration. In this domain the proposed research will address problems of numerical simulation of water impingement, icing related roughness, splashing and shedding of supercooled large droplets as well as hot-air anti-icing.Recent experimental and numerical studies prove the growing interest in assessing and using the wind potential of urban environments, where wind accelerates near buildings and significantly gains in speed around the higher ones. This "concentrator effect" can be used to convert, close to the consumer, the wind's enhanced energy. In such environ-ments small size (up to 100 kW) Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) have certain advantages over the Horizontal Axis type, hence their use is favored. The wind energy related research proposed here regards the prediction and optimization of the VAWT performances in urban conditions. The Darrieus-type VAWT rotors, are also suitable for tidal currents power generation, due to the fact that their rotation is independent from the direction of the flow, which greatly simplifies the necessary equipment.The results of the proposed research (models, methods and numerical tools) will help the Canadian aerospace industry to build airplanes able to fly safely in all-weather conditions and to increase the renewable energy part in Canada's energy resources.