DescriptionThis study investigates water flow over the blades of a Horizontal Axis Water Turbine (HAWT) using ANSYS Fluent, with the goal of examining the velocity and pressure distribution across the blade surfaces. Turbines of this kind are central to marine and hydrokinetic energy engineering, where they harness the kinetic energy of moving water to generate power.Two regions are defined around the blades: a cylindrical zone immediately surrounding them, and a larger domain enclosing that cylinder. In the outer domain, the water behaves as an ordinary free stream, while in the inner cylindrical region the rotational motion of the blades induces a swirling, rotational flow.Several assumptions underpin the simulation. The analysis is steady-state, since the turbine is of the horizontal-axis type and time therefore has no bearing on the drag and lift forces. A pressure-based solver is used, and gravitational force is neglected.MethodologyThe model was built in 3D, with the blade cross-section based on an S814 airfoil whose coordinates were taken from the Airfoil Tools website and exported as a text file. Because the airfoil section scales up or down along the blade span, Excel was used to define the coordinates at each spanwise station. Each section was then drawn in SOLIDWORKS at the appropriate angle and position and imported into Design Modeler to construct the blades and turbine shaft. Within Design Modeler, the rotational water region around the blades and the larger free-stream domain were both created.Meshing was performed in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured grid. To improve accuracy, a boundary-layer mesh was applied to the blade surfaces, and the final cell count reached 4,270,222.The rotation of the blades is modeled using the Frame Motion (MRF) method. The turbine blades rotate at 191 rpm while the surrounding water is treated as stationary; under this approach, the blades are held fixed and the water region around them is assigned a rotating frame turning at the same 191 rpm about the Z-axis. Because the simulation is steady-state, the Mesh Motion option is disabled — it applies only when time-dependent effects must be captured, whereas here the objective is simply to impose the rotational speed on the blades.The solution setup is summarized below:Viscous model — SST k-omegaBoundary conditions — velocity inlet at 1 m/s; pressure outlet at 0 Pa gauge; all walls set as stationarySolution methods — SIMPLE pressure-velocity coupling; second-order upwind discretization for pressure, momentum, turbulent kinetic energy, and turbulent dissipation rateInitialization — standard method, with an initial velocity of −1 m/s in the Z-directionConclusionOn completion of the solution, the velocity and pressure distributions over the turbine blades can be examined in detail through the corresponding contours. These results reveal how the water loads the blade surfaces and how the rotational flow develops within the cylindrical zone, providing the basis for evaluating the hydrodynamic performance of the horizontal-axis water turbine.

DescriptionThis project simulates airflow around an H-type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) using ANSYS Fluent. VAWTs offer a practical alternative to horizontal axis turbines (HAWTs) in several respects: they avoid the low efficiency HAWTs suffer at smaller diameters, don't require the roughly 200 m diameters common to HAWT installations, and don't disrupt the natural skyline the way large horizontal turbines do, making them especially well suited to offshore wind farms where wind conditions are also more consistent. The turbine modeled here has six blades, three positioned closer to the rotation axis, rotating in the −Z direction at 14.17 rad/s under an inlet air velocity of 5.3 m/s. The geometry is built in Design Modeler and meshed in ANSYS Meshing with an unstructured grid of 1,546,624 cells.MethodologyRather than physically rotating the blades, the simulation applies rotational motion to the fluid zone surrounding them, requiring a distinct moving zone to be separated from the rest of the computational domain. Because the blade positions change over time, relative to the surrounding flow, the problem is inherently time-dependent, and this is captured using the Mesh Motion method under cell zone conditions, with a defined rotation axis and rotation speed governing how that zone moves.AnalysisThe resulting velocity and pressure contours, along with velocity vectors and pathlines around the blades, confirm that the airflow develops a rotational pattern driven by the turbine's motion, with a maximum air velocity of 45 m/s appearing downstream of the turbine and an inlet mass flow rate of 272.685 kg/s. The blade tip speed ratio works out to about 6, based on a tip speed of 30 m/s against the 5.3 m/s free-stream velocity. A stagnation point, and correspondingly the peak pressure zone, appears on the minus-Y side of the turbine, consistent with how the free-stream flow and rotational flow combine there. That combination also affects the inner and outer blades differently: the outer blades, moving at higher linear velocity, experience a larger pressure differential than the inner blades, which sit closer to the rotation axis and move more slowly.

DescriptionThis project uses ANSYS Fluent to simulate a Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with the Dynamic Mesh 6DOF method, a core application of the dynamic mesh module for modeling rotation driven by fluid forces rather than a prescribed motion. The turbine's curved blades keep them in tension at high rotational speeds, and a helical blade arrangement helps distribute torque evenly across the revolution, reducing pulsation. In this case, a 6-blade Darrieus turbine is exposed to wind at 23 m/s, with turbine rotation resolved based on the moment generated by the flow itself.MethodologyThe 3D domain is built in DesignModeler, consisting of a flow domain and a body-of-influence region around the turbine, with a velocity inlet, pressure outlet, and ground wall boundary. The domain is meshed in ANSYS Meshing using an unstructured grid of 2,966,928 elements and 720,300 nodes. Turbine rotation is captured using the Dynamic Mesh 6DOF method, allowing the blades to rotate in response to the aerodynamic moment acting on them, rather than a fixed prescribed rotational speed.ConclusionResults show clear turbine rotation driven by the flow, with velocity contours revealing vortices — including Von Kármán vortex shedding — generated by the interaction between the flow and the rotating blades. Pressure contours show the highest pressure gradient at the blade leading edge, consistent with the flow velocity dropping to zero at that point. Streamline vectors resolve the wake region flow quality, a key challenge in this type of aerodynamic simulation, while the turbulence contour accurately captures the resulting turbulent structures.

DescriptionThis project uses ANSYS Fluent to simulate a Darrieus-type vertical axis water turbine (VAWT) submerged in flowing water, applying the Dynamic Mesh method to capture rotation driven by the surrounding flow — a relevant application in marine renewable energy and hydrokinetic power generation. Unlike wind-based VAWTs, this turbine extracts kinetic energy directly from water flow, with its rotational axis perpendicular to the flow direction. The three-bladed turbine rotates freely in response to the fluid forces acting on it, allowing its performance under water flow conditions to be evaluated.MethodologyThe 3D geometry is built in DesignModeler, consisting of a large computational domain containing a three-bladed Darrieus turbine (0.5 m blade height), with the turbine center positioned 3 m from the inlet, 10 m from the outlet, and 0.75 m from the top and bottom domain surfaces. The domain is meshed in ANSYS Meshing using a hybrid grid — unstructured around the turbine body and structured elsewhere — totaling 7,422,668 elements.Water enters the domain at 1 m/s along the horizontal axis, with a pressure outlet at atmospheric conditions and symmetry conditions applied to the top and lateral surfaces. The turbine's rotation is captured using the Dynamic Mesh model, with a cylindrical sub-region isolating the turbine blades as rigid bodies. Rotational motion is defined with one degree of freedom (1-DOF), using a blade mass of 1 kg and moment of inertia of 3.09 kg·m². The simulation is run transient, over 50 seconds with a 0.05 second time step, consistent with the dynamic mesh approach.ConclusionResults include 2D contours of velocity, pressure, and turbulent kinetic energy, along with pathlines and velocity vectors on a plane through the turbine center. Turbine torque and other performance characteristics are also analyzed, providing insight into the turbine's power extraction behavior — relevant to marine hydrokinetic energy system design and evaluation.

DescriptionIn this project, we present a simulation of a Horizontal-Axis Water Turbine (HAWT) via ANSYS software.Since the turbine blades are exposed to water flow, an interaction occurs between the water flowing and the turbine blades' structure. So, the water flow exerts a hydraulic force on the blades' body by hitting it. Therefore, we intend to perform a numerical simulation of the water turbine as a Fluid-Structure Interaction (called FSI).The interaction between fluid and structure can be implemented as:One-way FSITwo-way FSIIn this project, we aim to analyze only the effect of fluid on the structure, and there is no need to account for the effect of the structure on the fluid. So, we choose One-way FSI, which is a simple and less-expensive approach.We modeled the geometry via Design Modeler software. The computational domain is a sample space for water flow, in which a distinct fluid region is defined around the turbine body. The turbine is of the horizontal-axis type and includes three blades.We meshed the computational domain via ANSYS Meshing software. The mesh is of an unstructured type, and approximately 3,400,000 cells have been generated.MethodologyFluid-structure interaction can be performed in two general methodologies:In the ANSYS Workbench environment, using an external solverOnly in the Fluent solver (in the form of an intrinsic FSI).For one-way FSI with an external solver, three main steps are required:Simulation of the fluid domain from the model using the Fluent solverSimulation of the solid domain from the model using the Transient Structural solverTransfer data directly from the fluid solver to the structural solverSince we were analyzing one-way FSI and not considering the effect of structural displacement on the adjacent fluid, we didn't need to use the dynamic mesh model.In addition, we used the Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) to define a rotational flow with a certain angular velocity in the region around the turbine body.ResultsWe analyzed the results in two fluid and solid approaches:In Fluent, we studied the behavior of water flow around the turbine. For this, we obtained the distributions of the pressure and velocity of water near the blades. The results show that the water flow collides with the rotating blades' body and, as a result, exerts a hydraulic force on the turbine structure.In Structural Transient, we studied the behavior of the turbine blades' body under the influence of the applied forces of the water flow. For this, we obtained the distribution of the deformation, von Mises stress, and elastic strain. The results confirm that the water flow affects the turbine blades' structure.In conclusion, we can claim that we carried out the simulation project of a HAWT correctly and acceptably by using the one-way FSI method.

FSI Method for Water Turbine CFD Simulation in ANSYS FluentIntroductionThis study investigates the water flow around a vertical water turbine using an unsteady, transient CFD simulation in ANSYS Fluent. The turbine blades are assumed to be affected by the passing fluid flow, such that the fluid impedes forces on the turbine body, causing deformation and resizing of the blade structure. Since the problem involves the simultaneous solution of both fluid and solid domains, a Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) approach is employed, coupling the fluid flow solution with a Transient Structural analysis through system coupling. The simulation is solved using a pressure-based, transient solver, with gravitational effects neglected.Geometry and MeshThe three-dimensional model was designed in Design Modeler, consisting of a large cubic fluid domain with the water turbine positioned inside as the solid domain. The domain was discretized using an unstructured mesh generated in ANSYS Meshing, resulting in a total element count of 523,202.MethodologyTurbulent flow behavior was resolved using the standard k-epsilon viscous model with standard wall functions applied for near-wall treatment. The dynamic mesh approach, incorporating smoothing and remeshing methods, was coupled with a system coupling dynamic mesh zone to capture the two-way interaction between the fluid flow and the deforming turbine structure. At the inlet, a velocity-inlet boundary condition was applied with a velocity magnitude of 1.5 m/s, while a pressure-outlet condition with 0 Pa gauge pressure was set at the outlet. The turbine blades and fixed surfaces were defined as stationary walls. The SIMPLE algorithm was used for pressure-velocity coupling, with second-order upwind discretization applied to pressure and momentum, and first-order upwind discretization applied to turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent dissipation rate. The simulation was initialized using the standard initialization method with an x-velocity of 1.5 m/s.Results and ConclusionThe coupled FSI solution captures the dynamic interaction between the water flow and the turbine blade structure, allowing the deformation behavior of the blades under fluid loading to be evaluated alongside the surrounding flow field characteristics, providing insight into the structural response of the turbine under realistic unsteady hydrodynamic conditions.

Pelton Turbine (FSI) — ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationDescriptionThis project simulates fluid–structure interaction (FSI) in a Pelton turbine using ANSYS Fluent. A Pelton turbine converts the pressure energy of a high-velocity water jet into mechanical rotation via cup-shaped blades, and when that high-pressure jet strikes the turbine body, it can noticeably displace or deform the solid structure — making this a genuine two-way coupling problem between the fluid flow and the structural response rather than a fluid-only analysis. Within the FSI: Beginner CFD Training Package, this project applies FSI to an impulse hydro turbine, extending the coupled approach to a high-load rotating machine where the jet impact drives the structural response.MethodologyThe geometry, covering both the solid turbine body and the surrounding fluid region, is built in 3D using Design Modeler and meshed in ANSYS Meshing with roughly 6 million cells. Rather than coupling Fluent to an external structural solver through a system-coupling setup, the project uses Fluent's Intrinsic FSI capability, running both the fluid and structural calculations natively within Fluent by enabling the Structural Model with a linear elasticity formulation for the deformation. Rotation of the turbine is captured through the Moving Reference Frame approach, applying a specified rotational speed to the fluid zone adjacent to the turbine body via Frame Motion, consistent with a steady-state run.AnalysisThe results are examined from both structural and fluid perspectives: total displacement and von Mises stress describe how the turbine body responds mechanically, while the pressure and velocity fields describe the water flow around it. The coupled results show that the high-pressure, rotating water jet imposes substantial loading on the solid body, producing noticeable deformation concentrated on the blades — exactly where the jet impact is most direct — confirming that the intrinsic FSI setup captures a physically consistent fluid-to-structure load transfer. By the end of this project, you'll be able to set up an intrinsic FSI simulation within ANSYS Fluent using the Structural Model with linear elasticity, apply the Moving Reference Frame approach for a rotating turbine, and interpret the displacement, stress, pressure, and velocity fields that characterize the jet-driven fluid-structure interaction in a Pelton turbine.

Flat Plate Solar Collector — Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) ANSYS Fluent CFD SimulationDescriptionFlat plate solar collectors (FPSC), and the photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) systems built around them, convert sunlight into useful heat — most commonly by warming water that flows through pipes bonded to a sun-facing absorber plate. Their performance depends on the collector design, the materials of each layer, and the installation conditions: geographic location and tilt angle directly determine how much solar energy the panel receives.This project uses ANSYS Fluent to simulate an FPSC installed in Doha at a 45° tilt angle, solving the full conjugate heat transfer (CHT) problem to capture how solar radiation heats the water passing through the collector's pipes. Because the model resolves the solid layers, the pipe walls, and the water flow as one coupled thermal system — and includes the heat generated inside the PV layer itself — it represents a true PV/T simulation rather than a simple solar-heating case.MethodologyThe collector geometry is created in Design Modeler, and a tetrahedral mesh of approximately 5,590,000 elements is generated in ANSYS Meshing. A mesh of this size is required to resolve the thin solid layers, the pipe walls, and the water domain together within a single coupled model.The simulation couples three sets of physics:The Navier–Stokes equations for the water flow inside the pipesThe energy equation for heat transfer through both the fluid and the solid layers (conjugate heat transfer)The Discrete Ordinates (DO) radiation model for the incoming solar irradiation, set at 800 W/m²Water enters the collector at 300 K with a mass flow rate of 0.02 kg/s and exits at atmospheric pressure. A key feature of the model is the treatment of the PV layer: instead of representing the panel as a simple absorbing surface, the volumetric heat flux inside the PV layer is calculated from the solar flux, the glass transmittance, the PV absorption coefficient, the panel efficiency, and the PV layer thickness, and is then applied as a volumetric heat source. This physically based heat generation term is what distinguishes the case as a genuine PV/T simulation.AnalysisAt the end of the solution process, temperature contours and volume-averaged results are extracted to evaluate the thermal performance of the collector. The results clearly show how solar radiation progressively raises the water temperature as it travels through the collector pipes: the average water temperature reaches about 306.5 K, while the average PV layer temperature reaches about 310.1 K — the panel running hotter than the water it heats, exactly as expected in a PV/T system.By completing this project, you will be able to set up a coupled CHT simulation with radiation, apply the DO model for solar loading based on location and tilt, implement a volumetric heat source derived from physical panel parameters, and interpret the temperature distribution across a multi-layer solar collector.

DescriptionThis project simulates a floating solar panel system, a photovoltaic installation deployed on a water surface rather than on land, using ANSYS Fluent. Floating this way brings several advantages over conventional ground-mounted panels: the water's cooling effect improves energy output, land use is freed up for other purposes, and the panel coverage helps reduce evaporation and limit algae growth on the water body beneath it. The simulation is fully 3D, capturing the panel floating on the water surface as it responds to the surrounding air and water phases. The geometry, comprising the water tank and floating panel, is built in SpaceClaim and meshed in ANSYS Meshing with a grid of 479,895 cells.MethodologyWater and air are modeled as two interacting phases using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) multiphase model, capturing the free surface the panel floats on. Because the panel needs to move and settle naturally under buoyancy, a 6-degree-of-freedom dynamic mesh is used, allowing the panel to float freely, with remeshing and smoothing keeping the mesh valid as it moves. Radiation is also activated, using the Discrete Ordinates model, to capture how sunlight reaches and heats the panel surface.AnalysisThe volume fraction contour shows a clean, stable interface between air and water, indicating the panel maintains steady buoyancy without disruptive interface instabilities that could otherwise compromise its floating stability and energy generation. The incident radiation contour shows a largely uniform distribution of sunlight across the panel surface, supporting consistent energy output, while the temperature distribution shows a stable thermal profile with no significant hotspots, suggesting the design avoids the localized heating that would otherwise degrade efficiency or panel materials over time. Together, these results indicate the floating panel system performs reliably in its intended floating, sun-exposed environment.

DescriptionThis project investigates the performance of a step solar desalination unit (solar still) using ANSYS Fluent, studied through CFD analysis. Producing potable water from saline sources is a central goal of clean water engineering, and the solar still achieves this passively — using nothing but solar energy to convert brackish or seawater into fresh water.The model consists of a small chamber with a sloping glass surface on each side and a series of steps inside, over which saline water flows. Solar radiation passes through the glass to the water surface on the steps, evaporating it; the resulting vapor then meets the cold glass surface and condenses in a distillation process. The freshwater produced by condensation runs down the slope of the glass plate and is discharged as pure water.The model was built in 3D using Design Modeler. Because the geometry is symmetric, only one-quarter of it is modeled. This quarter-geometry comprises two sloping glass surfaces and the steps that carry the water flow. Meshing was performed in ANSYS Meshing, producing 809,037 elements.MethodologyTo convert saline water into fresh water, the water must first be turned into vapor and then condensed back into liquid. A solar still typically consists of a sloped glass cover placed over the device and a stepped platform that holds the saline water to be distilled. The glass cover acts as both a rigid substrate and a transparent layer that admits the sun's rays, while the heat needed to generate vapor comes from the solar energy absorbed inside the device. The vapor then rises, strikes the cool glass cover, and condenses into fresh water.To capture this, the Solar Ray Tracing model is enabled to represent the absorbed solar heat, and the Species Transport model is activated to model the two components — water and vapor — inside the chamber. This approach treats the chamber interior as a water-vapor mixture and does not explicitly simulate the flow of the distilled water. At the start of the simulation, the interior is filled entirely with vapor; the bottom plane of the chamber represents the water surface, and since evaporation occurs there, this surface is treated as vapor.Constant values of 1.00314 × 10⁻⁵ m²/s and 0.0002 kg/m·s are assigned to the mass diffusion coefficient and the thermal diffusion coefficient, respectively, governing the conversion between water and vapor. The sloping plate where the vapor condenses is assumed to consist only of vapor. The ambient air temperature is taken as 311.75 K with a heat transfer coefficient of 25 W/m²K. The stepped platform holding the saline water is assumed to absorb heat with no transmissivity, while the glass cover is assumed to have maximum transmissivity and no absorbance. Gravity is enabled in the Y direction, and the incompressible ideal-gas model is used to account for the density difference between water and vapor.ConclusionOn completion of the solution, three-dimensional contours of velocity, temperature, velocity vectors, and species mass fraction inside the still were obtained.The velocity contours and vectors show how the generated vapor rises within the device to strike the upper sloped glass surface. The 3D temperature contour makes clear that the saline water on the stepped platform has heated up enough to evaporate, while the glass cover remains cold enough to condense the vapor, which then slides down to the lower part of the device where the fresh water is collected. Finally, the species mass fraction contour shows a water mass fraction of one on the stepped platform and the glass substrate, while the water fraction decreases within the interior space — confirming that vapor is forming there. Together, these results demonstrate the complete evaporation-condensation cycle that enables the solar still to deliver clean, desalinated water using only solar energy.