Research on Numerical Simulation of Wind Kinetic Energy Recovery Power Generation at Mine Return Air Wellhead

The recovery and utilization of waste wind is an important way to construct a green mine. In this paper, the power generation technology of air kinetic energy recovery in mine return air-head was numerically studied. Through the theoretical analysis of mine return air power generation, the key parameters of wind turbine were designed and determined. FLUENT and QBlade were used to simulate the local and overall performance of the wind turbine, respectively. The results show that NACA4412 airfoil blades have good rotating performance and aerodynamic performance since the pressure difference between pressure surface and suction surface is large by analyzing the pressure field. When the tip speed ratio is between 4 and 7. The wind energy utilization coefficient reaches the maximum value in the range of 7–8, and the maximum power coefficient can reach 0.501. The wind turbine can maintain a high-power coefficient in a wide range, and the effect is relatively ideal. In addition, under the rated wind speed of 10 m s⁻¹, the torque of wind turbine is 17 N m which is relative large. The thrust and thrust coefficient are 150 N and 0.72, respectively, so the thrust and thrust coefficient are small. In general, the wind turbine has high wind energy utilization rate and structural stability. It is feasible to recover the air kinetic energy from the mine shaft. And the research results provide a reference for the recovery and utilization of air kinetic energy in mine return air wellhead.