An inviscid approach to ducted turbine analysis

Appropriate ducting surrounding a wind turbine can augment the mass flow through the rotor and so increase the power coefficient achieved. This work presents an inviscid approach to the investigation of ducted turbine performance, which is more appropriate for comparison to one-dimensional theory than a viscous approach. Simulations of three duct shapes–with equal length and inlet and outlet radii–show that shape is important to both the maximum power coefficient achieved and the optimum loading required to achieve it. Results were compared with a particular one-dimensional theory and found to be consistent.