Fluid–Structure Interaction in Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines: Recent Progress and Challenges in Lattice Boltzmann Method Applications

This review synthesizes recent progress in fluid–structure interaction (FSI) for horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) with an emphasis on advances using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Fluid-only HAWT–LBM studies and their numerical foundations—lattice and collision operators, subgrid closures, near-wall treatment, and Cartesian geometry/interface handling—are consolidated. Across representative benchmarks and field cases, fluid-only LBM has matched integral power/thrust and near- and mid-wake metrics relative to established Navier–Stokes solvers in published comparisons, while demonstrating strong GPU performance and scaling. By contrast, published LBM-based FSI for HAWTs is limited to rigid-body coupling; a validated, two-way aeroelastic coupling of flexible, rotating blades has not yet been demonstrated. Canonical LBM–FSI applications (flexible flaps, plates/wings, selected civil/aero cases) illustrate transferable patterns—loose/strong partitioned exchange, immersed-boundary interfaces, and substep coupling to accommodate different fluid and structural time scales—but stop short of rotating composite blades at Reynolds numbers typical of utility-scale HAWTs. Based on these findings, the remaining research gaps are delineated and a staged roadmap toward a validated, two-way LBM-based aeroelastic pipeline for flexible HAWT blades is presented.

• fluid-structure interaction
• horizontal axis wind turbine
• lattice Boltzmann method
• aeroelasticity
• immersed boundary method
• partitioned coupling
• near-wall treatment
• wake characteristics
• GPU performance
• utility-scale wind turbines

• 7 — Énergie propre et d’un coût abordable

• Lattice Boltzmann Simulation Studies
• Wind Energy Research and Development
• Fluid Dynamics and Vibration Analysis
• fluid-structure interaction
• horizontal axis wind turbine
• lattice Boltzmann method
• aeroelasticity
• immersed boundary method
• partitioned coupling
• near-wall treatment
• wake characteristics
• Computational Mechanics
• Aerospace Engineering
• Engineering