Aerodynamic Design Optimization of Elliptical-Bladed Savonius-Style Wind Turbine by Numerical Simulations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Alom ◽  
Satish Chandra Kolaparthi ◽  
Sarath Chandra Gadde ◽  
Ujjwal K. Saha
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
3D Simulation ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Savonius-style wind turbine (SSWT), a class of vertical-axis wind turbine, appears to be promising for off-shore applications because of its design simplicity, good starting ability, insensitivity to wind direction, relatively low operating speed, low cost and easy installation. Various blade shapes have been used over the years to improve the performance of this class of turbine. In the recent past, an elliptic-bladed profile with sectional cut angle of 50° has shown its potential to harness the wind energy more efficiently. The present study aims to optimize this profile by numerical simulations. In view of this, the elliptical-bladed profiles are tested at different sectional cut angles of θ = 45°, 47.5°, 50° and 55°. The shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model is used to simulate the flow field, and thereafter, the torque and power coefficients are obtained at the rotating conditions. From 2D simulation, pressure and velocity contours are generated and analyzed. 2D simulations are also carried out for a semi-circular bladed profile in order to have a direct comparison. The numerical study demonstrates an improved flow characteristics, and hence the power coefficient of the elliptical-bladed profile at = 47.5°. Finally, 3D simulation is carried out to visualize and analyze the flow field around the optimum elliptical-bladed rotor at a tip speed ratio of 0.8. The aspect ratio of the rotor for the 3D simulation is kept at 0.7.

Performance Improvements for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine by Means of Gurney Flap

2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Yan ◽  
Eldad Avital ◽  
John Williams ◽  
Jiahuan Cui
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
Gurney Flap

Abstract A numerical study was carried out to investigate the effects of a Gurney flap (GF) on the aerodynamics performance of the NACA 00 aerofoil and an associated three-blade rotor of a H-type Darrieus wind turbine. The flow fields around a single aerofoil and the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) rotor are studied using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (URANS). The height of GF ranges from 1% to 5% of the aerofoil chord length. The results show that the GF can increase the lift and lift-to-drag ratio of the aerofoil as associated with the generation of additional vortices near the aerofoil trailing edge. As a result, adding a GF can significantly improve the power coefficient of the VAWT at low tip speed ratio (TSR), where it typically gives low power production. The causing mechanism is discussed in detail, pointing to flow separation and dynamic stall delay.

A Numerical Study on the Effects of Unsteady Wind on Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Performance

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Angelo Danao ◽  
Jonathan Edwards ◽  
Okeoghene Eboibi ◽  
Robert Howell
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Angle Of Attack ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Peak Performance ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Tip Speed Ratio

Numerical simulations using RANS–based CFD have been utilised to carry out investigations on the effects of unsteady wind in the performance of a wind tunnel vertical axis wind turbine. Using a validated CFD model, unsteady wind simulations revealed a fundamental relationship between instantaneous VAWT CP and wind speed. CFD data shows a CP variation in unsteady wind that cuts across the steady CP curve as wind speed fluctuates. A reference case with mean wind speed of 7m/s, wind speed amplitude of ±12%, fluctuating frequency of 0.5Hz and mean tip speed ratio of 4.4 has shown a wind cycle mean power coefficient of 0.33 that equals the steady wind maximum. Increasing wind speed causes the instantaneous tip speed ratio to fall which leads to higher effective angle of attack and deeper stalling on the blades. Stalled flow and rapid changes in angle of attack of the blade induce hysteresis loops in both lift and drag. Decreasing wind speeds limit the perceived angle of attack seen by the blades to near static stall thus reducing the positive effect of dynamic stall on lift generation. Three mean tip speed ratio cases were tested to study the effects of varying conditions of VAWT operation on the overall performance. As the mean tip speed ratio increases, the peak performance also increases.

Numerical Study of Pitch Angle on H-Type Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

2012 ◽  
Vol 499 ◽  
pp. 259-264
Author(s):  
Qi Yao ◽  
Ying Xue Yao ◽  
Liang Zhou ◽  
S.Y. Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Pitch Angle ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Azimuth Angle ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Cfd Model ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Sliding Mesh ◽  
Mesh Technique

This paper presents a simulation study of an H-type vertical axis wind turbine. Two dimensional CFD model using sliding mesh technique was generated to help understand aerodynamics performance of this wind turbine. The effect of the pith angle on H-type vertical axis wind turbine was studied based on the computational model. As a result, this wind turbine could get the maximum power coefficient when pitch angle adjusted to a suited angle, furthermore, the effects of pitch angle and azimuth angle on single blade were investigated. The results will provide theoretical supports on study of variable pitch of wind turbine.

Numerical Research on the Characteristics of Lift-Drag Type Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

2012 ◽  
Vol 189 ◽  
pp. 448-452
Author(s):  
Yan Jun Chen ◽  
Guo Qing Wu ◽  
Yang Cao ◽  
Dian Gui Huang ◽  
Qin Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Chord Length ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Tip Speed Ratio ◽  
Middle Range ◽  
Parabolic Form ◽  
Cfd Method

Numerical studies are conducted to research the performance of a kind of lift-drag type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) affected by solidity with the CFD method. Moving mesh technique is used to construct the model. The Spalart-Allmaras one equation turbulent model and the implicit coupled algorithm based on pressure are selected to solve the transient equations. In this research, how the tip speed ratio and the solidity of blade affect the power coefficient (Cp) of the small H-VAWT is analyzed. The results indicate that Cp curves exhibit approximate parabolic form with its maximum in the middle range of tip speed ratio. The two-blade wind turbine has the lowest Cp while the three-blade one is more powerful and the four-blade one brings the highest power. With the certain number of blades, there is a best chord length, and too long or too short chord length may reduce the Cp.

Experimental Study of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine with Wind Speed Self-Adapting

2012 ◽  
Vol 215-216 ◽  
pp. 1323-1326
Author(s):  
Ming Wei Xu ◽  
Jian Jun Qu ◽  
Han Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Velocity ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Maximum Power ◽  
The Self ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Opening And Closing

A small vertical axis wind turbine with wind speed self-adapting was designed. The diameter and height of the turbine were both 0.7m. It featured that the blades were composed of movable and fixed blades, and the opening and closing of the movable blades realized the wind speed self-adapting. Aerodynamic performance of this new kind turbine was tested in a simple wind tunnel. Then the self-starting and power coefficient of the turbine were studied. The turbine with load could reliably self-start and operate stably even when the wind velocity was only 3.6 m/s. When the wind velocity was 8 m/s and the load torque was 0.1Nm, the movable blades no longer opened and the wind turbine realized the conversion from drag mode to lift mode. With the increase of wind speed, the maximum power coefficient of the turbine also improves gradually. Under 8 m/s wind speed, the maximum power coefficient of the turbine reaches to 12.26%. The experimental results showed that the new turbine not only improved the self-starting ability of the lift-style turbine, but also had a higher power coefficient in low tip speed ratio.

scholarly journals A Dynamic Rotor Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine with a Blade Transitioning Capability

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elie Antar ◽  
Amne El Cheikh ◽  
Michel Elkhoury
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Average Power ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Optimized Design ◽  
Detached Eddy Simulation ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation

This work presents an optimized design of a dynamic rotor vertical-axis wind turbine (DR VAWT) which maximizes the operational tip-speed ratio (TSR) range and the average power coefficient (Cp) value while maintaining a low cut-in wind velocity. The DR VAWT is capable of mimicking a Savonius rotor during the start-up phase and transitioning into a Darrieus one with increasing rotor radius at higher TSRs. The design exploits the fact that with increasing rotor radius, the TSR value increases, where the peak power coefficient is attained. A 2.5D improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) approach was adopted in order to optimize the dynamic rotor design, where results showed that the generated blades’ trajectories can be readily replicated by simple mechanisms in reality. A thorough sensitivity analysis was conducted on the generated optimized blades’ trajectories, where results showed that they were insensitive to values of the Reynolds number. The performance of the DR VAWT turbine with its blades following different trajectories was contrasted with the optimized turbine, where the influence of the blade pitch angle was highlighted. Moreover, a cross comparison between the performance of the proposed design and that of the hybrid Savonius–Darrieus one found in the literature was carefully made. Finally, the effect of airfoil thickness on the performance of the optimized DR VAWT was thoroughly analyzed.

Numerical Analysis of a Rooftop Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Cristobal Uzarraga-Rodriguez ◽  
A. Gallegos-Mun˜oz ◽  
J. Manuel Riesco A´vila
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Analysis ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Sliding Mesh ◽  
Mesh Model

A numerical analysis of a rooftop vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) for applications in urban area is presented. The numerical simulations were developed to study the flow field through the turbine rotor to analyze the aerodynamic performance characteristics of the device. Three different blade numbers of wind turbine are studied, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Each one of the models was built in a 3D computational model. The effects generated in the performance of turbines by the numbers of blades are considered. A Sliding Mesh Model (SMM) capability was used to present the dimensionless form of coefficient power and coefficient moment of the wind turbine as a function of the wind velocity and the rotor rotational speed. The numerical study was developed in CFD using FLUENT®. The results show the aerodynamic performance for each configuration of wind turbine rotor. In the cases of Rooftop rotor the power coefficient increases as the blade number increases, while in the case of Savonius rotor the power coefficient decrease as the blades number increases.

The Straight-Bladed Morphing Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David MacPhee ◽  
Asfaw Beyene
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Pitch Control ◽  
Control Schemes ◽  
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines ◽  
Novel Concept

Blade pitch control has been extremely important for the development of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs), allowing for greater efficiency over a wider range of operational regimes when compared to rigid-bladed designs. For Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs), blade pitching is inherently more difficult due to a dependence of attack angle on turbine armature location, shaft speed, and wind speed. As a result, there have been very few practical pitch control schemes put forward for VAWTs, which may be a major reason why this wind turbine type enjoys a much lower market share as compared to HAWTs. To alleviate this issue, the flexible, straight-bladed vertical-axis turbine is presented, which can passively adapt its geometry to local aerodynamic loadings and serves as a low-cost blade pitch control strategy increasing efficiency and startup capabilities. Using two-dimensional fluid-structure action simulations, this novel concept is compared to an identical rigid one and is proven to be superior in terms of power coefficient due to decreased torque minima. Moreover, due to the flexible nature of the blades, the morphing turbine achieves less severe oscillatory loadings. As a result, the morphing blade design is expected to not only increase efficiency but also system longevity without additional system costs usually associated with active pitch control schemes.

Prediction of Aerodynamic Noise Radiated From a Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiyoshi Iida ◽  
Akisato Mizuno ◽  
Kyoji Kamemoto
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Sound Source ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Aerodynamic Noise ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Unsteady flow field and flow induced noise of vertical axis wind turbine are numerically investigated. The flow field is numerically calculated by the vortex method with core-spreading model. This simulation obtains aerodynamic performance and aerodynamic forces. Aerodynamic noise is also simulated by using Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings equation with compact body and low-Mach number assumptions. Tip speed of rotor blades are not so high, then the contribution of the moving sound source is smaller than that of the dipole sound source. Since the maximum power coefficient of VAWT can be obtained at lower tip-speed ratio compared to the conventional, horizontal axis wind turbines, the aerodynamic noise from vertical axis wind turbine is smaller than that of the conventional wind turbines at the same aerodynamic performance. This result indicates that the vertical axis wind turbines are useful to develop low-noise wind turbines.

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