AbstractVertical axis turbines (VATs) excel over horizontal axis turbines in their independent flow direction. VATs that operate in an enclosure, e.g., a diffuser shroud, are reported to generate more power than unducted VATs. A diffuser-shrouded, high solidity of 36.67%,
three-blade VAT with NACA 633-018 airfoil section is modeled in 2-D using the commercial software ANSYS-FLUENT®. Incompressible, unsteady, segregated, implicit, and second order in time and space solver is implemented in association with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulent
model with a reasonable computational cost. The computational results are assessed against experimental data for unducted VAT at low tip speed ratios between 1 and 2 for further numerical analysis on diffuser models. Different diffuser designs are investigated using suitable nozzle size, area
ratio, length-to-diameter ratio and angles between the diffuser inner surfaces. The numerical model shows that, for a specific diffuser design, the ducted VAT performance coefficient can be augmented by almost 90% over its unducted counterpart.
Energy extraction characteristic of the flapping wing type vertical axis turbine
