scholarly journals Effect of Helix Angle on the Performance of Helical Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Unnikrishnan Divakaran ◽  
Ajith Ramesh ◽  
Akram Mohammad ◽  
Ratna Kishore Velamati
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Helix Angle ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ripple Effect ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Moment Coefficient ◽  
Helical Blade

The global energy crisis has lead researchers explore other sources of energy like wind, resulting in a wide acceptance of wind turbines. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) more suitable for small scale application in urban conditions than their horizontal-axis counterparts. A Helical bladed VAWT would reduce the ripple effect when compared to Straight bladed VAWT. The effect of the blade helix angle on the aerodynamic performance of VAWT using 3D numerical simulations is studied. Turbulence modelled using 4-Equation transition SST k-w model. Three different helix angles of 60, 90 and 120 of a 3 bladed VAWT operating across different tip speed ratios were studied. The 60 helical bladed VAWT was found to perform better than all other helical bladed and straight bladed VAWT. Standard deviation of the moment coefficient generated by a blade plotted against 360 of azimuth rotation revealed that the ripple effect on the shaft produced by cyclic loading of the straight blade is considerably reduced upon introduction of helix angle, with 120 helical blade giving lowest standard deviation. The analysis has been done for the percentage of power generated by each quartile of flow and the contribution of each section of the blade. A comparative study was also conducted between different helical bladed VAWT and straight bladed VAWT. Flow feature analysis also revealed the reasons behind secondary peaks and the performance improvement when tip speed ratio increases. Wake structure analysis and flow contours were also studied for a better understanding of the flow field.

scholarly journals Effect of Helix Angle on the Performance of Helical Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 393
Author(s):  
Unnikrishnan Divakaran ◽  
Ajith Ramesh ◽  
Akram Mohammad ◽  
Ratna Kishore Velamati
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Helix Angle ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Ansys Fluent ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Moment Coefficient ◽  
Deviation Plot ◽  
The Moment

The energy crisis has forced researchers to look for various non-conventional energy sources. Wind energy is one of the potential sources, and researchers have invested resources in developing different kinds of wind turbines. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) have received less attention than their horizontal-axis counterparts. A helical-bladed VAWT is preferred because it makes perfect sense as an improvement in design, as they have higher azimuth angles of power generation capabilities. This paper studies the effects of the helix angle of blades in the aerodynamic performance of VAWT using 3D numerical simulations. Three different helix angles of 60°, 90°, and 120° of a three-bladed VAWT operating across different tip speed ratios were studied. Turbulence is modelled using a four-equation transition SST k-ω model (shear stress transport). The 60° helical-bladed VAWT was found to be better performing in comparison with all other helical-bladed and straight-bladed VAWT. The ripple effects on the shaft are also analysed using a standard deviation plot of the moment coefficient generated by a single blade over one complete cycle of its rotation. It was observed that the greater the helix angle, the lower the standard deviation. The paper also tries to analyse the percentage of power generated by each quartile of flow and the contribution of each section of the blade. Ansys FLUENT was employed for the entire study. A comparative study between different helical-bladed VAWT and straight-bladed VAWT was carried out along with wake structure analysis and flow contours for a better understanding of the flow field.

scholarly journals Numerical Analysis of a Small-Size Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine Performance and Averaged Flow Parameters Around the Rotor

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Rogowski ◽  
Ryszard Maroński ◽  
Janusz Piechna
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Field ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Static Pressure Distribution ◽  
Rural And Urban

AbstractSmall-scale vertical-axis wind turbines can be used as a source of electricity in rural and urban environments. According to the authors’ knowledge, there are no validated simplified aerodynamic models of these wind turbines, therefore the use of more advanced techniques, such as for example the computational methods for fluid dynamics is justified. The paper contains performance analysis of the small-scale vertical-axis wind turbine with a large solidity. The averaged velocity field and the averaged static pressure distribution around the rotor have been also analyzed. All numerical results presented in this paper are obtained using the SST k-ω turbulence model. Computed power coeffcients are in good agreement with the experimental results. A small change in the tip speed ratio significantly affects the velocity field. Obtained velocity fields can be further used as a base for simplified aerodynamic methods.

scholarly journals Numerical Analysis of Design Parameters With Strong Influence on the Aerodynamic Efficiency of a Small-Scale Self-Pitch VAWT

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Xisto ◽  
José Páscoa ◽  
Michele Trancossi
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Periodic Variation ◽  
Numerical Approach ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Four Bar Linkage

In the paper, four key design parameters with a strong influence on the performance of a small-scale high solidity variable pitch VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine), operating at low tip-speed-ratio (TSR) are addressed. To this aim a numerical approach, based on a finite-volume discretization of two-dimensional Unsteady RANS equations on a multiple sliding mesh, is proposed and validated against experimental data. The self-pitch VAWT design is based on a straight blade Darrieus wind turbine with blades that are allowed to pitch around a feathering axis, which is also parallel to the axis of rotation. The pitch angle amplitude and periodic variation are dynamically controlled by a four-bar-linkage system. We only consider the efficiency at low and intermediate TSR, therefore the pitch amplitude is chosen to be a sinusoidal function with a considerable amplitude. The results of this parametric analysis will contribute to define the guidelines for building a full size prototype of a small scale turbine of increased efficiency.

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.

Numerical Investigation to Assess an Optimal Blade Profile for the Drag Based Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukanta Roy ◽  
Ujjwal K. Saha
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Computational Study ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Rapid depletion rate of fossil fuels with an increasing energy demand and their high emission are imposing the evolution activities in the arena of renewable energy. To meet the future demands of renewable energy sources, wind energy is a very promising concept. In this feature, the drag based vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are suitable for small scale wind energy generation for decentralized locations. However, these turbines have low power and torque coefficients as compared to other wind turbines. Numerous blade shapes have been proposed till now to improve the performance of these turbines. In the present paper, a computational study has been performed to simulate the air-flow over different blade profiles using shear stress transport (SST) k–ω turbulence model. The results obtained are validated with the available experimental data. In the dynamic simulations, the power and torque coefficients are calculated considering the blade arc angle as the variable shape parameter. The effects of drag and lift forces on the variable blade shapes are also studied in static simulations at various angular positions. The present paper tries to demonstrate an effective computational methodology to predict the flow behavior around a drag based VAWT. Through this study, it has been found possible to select an optimal blade shape from the point of its aerodynamic performance.

scholarly journals Dynamic stall in vertical axis wind turbines: scaling and topological considerations

2018 ◽  
Vol 841 ◽  
pp. 746-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel-John Buchner ◽  
Julio Soria ◽  
Damon Honnery ◽  
Alexander J. Smits
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Vortex Shedding ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Dynamic Stall ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

Vertical axis wind turbine blades are subject to rapid, cyclical variations in angle of attack and relative airspeed which can induce dynamic stall. This phenomenon poses an obstacle to the greater implementation of vertical axis wind turbines because dynamic stall can reduce turbine efficiency and induce structural vibrations and noise. This study seeks to provide a more comprehensive description of dynamic stall in vertical axis wind turbines, with an emphasis on understanding its parametric dependence and scaling behaviour. This problem is of practical relevance to vertical axis wind turbine design but the inherent coupling of the pitching and velocity scales in the blade kinematics makes this problem of more broad fundamental interest as well. Experiments are performed using particle image velocimetry in the vicinity of the blades of a straight-bladed gyromill-type vertical axis wind turbine at blade Reynolds numbers of between 50 000 and 140 000, tip speed ratios between $\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}=1$ to $\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}=5$, and dimensionless pitch rates of $0.10\leqslant K_{c}\leqslant 0.20$. The effect of these factors on the evolution, strength and timing of vortex shedding from the turbine blades is determined. It is found that tip speed ratio alone is insufficient to describe the circulation production and vortex shedding behaviour from vertical axis wind turbine blades, and a scaling incorporating the dimensionless pitch rate is proposed.

Development of a High Efficiency and Long Life 500W Class H-Darrieus Type VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine) System Using Skin-Spar-Foam Sandwich Composite Structure

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changduk Kong ◽  
Haseung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Structural Test

Since the energy crisis and the environmental issue have been focused due to excessive fossil fuel consumption, the wind power has been considered as an important renewable energy source. Recently, several MW class large scale wind turbine systems have been developed in some countries. Even though the large scale wind turbine can effectively produce the electrical power, the small scale wind turbines have been continuously developed due some advantages, for instance, it can be easily built by low cost without any limitation of location, i.e. even in city. In case of small scale wind turbines, the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is used in city having frequent wind direction change, even though it has a bit lower efficient than the horizontal axis wind turbine. Furthermore, most small scale wind turbine systems have been designed at the rated wind speed of around 12m/s. This work is to design a high efficiency 500W class composite VAWT blade which is applicable to relatively low speed region. In the aerodynamic design of blade, the parametric studies are carried out to decide an optimal aerodynamic configuration. The aerodynamic efficiency and performance of the designed VAWT is confirmed by the CFD analysis. The structural design is performed by the load case study, the initial sizing using the netting rule and the rule of mixture, the structural analysis using FEM, the fatigue life estimation and the structural test. The prototype blade is manufactured by the hand lay-up and the matched die molding. The experimental structural test results are compared with the FEM analysis results. Finally, to evaluate the prototype VAWT including designed blades, the performance test is performed using a truck to simulate the various range wind speeds and some measuring equipments. According to the performance evaluation result, the estimated performance is well agreed with the experimental test result in all operating ranges.

Numerical Investigations on the Use of Multi-Element Airfoils for Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Configurations

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elhadji A. A. Bah ◽  
Lakshmi N. Sankar ◽  
Jechiel I. Jagoda
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Dynamic Stall ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Single Element ◽  
Ratio Analysis ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Tip Speed Ratio ◽  
Pressure Distributions ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) have a relatively simple, rugged construction compared to HAWTs. However, vertical-axis wind turbines have numerous challenges that may hinder their performance. For instance they are strongly affected by dynamic stall at low tip speed ratios. A significant part of the kinetic energy contained in the oncoming wind is lost in swirl and vortices. As a result, VAWTs have a lower power production and efficiency compared to HAWTs. In an effort to alleviate the adverse effects of dynamic stall phenomena, the present study explores the use of two-element airfoils. A comparative study of single element and dual element VAWT configurations for representative VAWT turbines is given. The benefits of dual-element configurations are analyzed through a detailed flow visualization study of the single and two-element VAWT configurations at various azimuthal locations for a representative tip speed ratio. Analysis of these qualitative phenomena is complemented by a discussion on quantitative data for torque, surface pressure distributions, and airloads.

Performance Evaluation of H-Type Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Turbine with Different Turbine Solidity

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 833-839
Author(s):  
Muhamad Fadhli Ramlee ◽  
Ahmad Fazlizan ◽  
Sohif Mat
Keyword(s):  
Wind Energy ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Wind Condition ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Power Performance ◽  
Darrieus Rotor

Among renewable energy resources, wind energy is one of the best alternative for power generation. Recently, vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) received renewed interest as small-scale wind energy converter due to its suitability for urban application, where the wind condition is known to be unsteady and turbulence. Amongst various type of VAWTs, H-type Darrieus rotor has become more popular, thanks to its simple construction features, resulting to low manufacturing and installation cost. The aim of this paper is to evaluate numerically the power performance of straight-bladed Darrieus VAWT with different turbine solidity using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) technology. A series of two-dimensional CFD simulations of a three-bladed H-type Darrieus rotor were performed with 3 different solidities, σ (0.3, 0.5 and 0.7) to evaluate their power performance. Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equations were used to calculate the instantaneous moment coefficient, Cm and power coefficient, Cp over a range of tip speed ratio, λ (0.5–4.5) with a free stream velocity of 8.0 m/s. The simulation results show that high solidity turbine performed well at low values of λ while turbine with low solidity has a wider operating range of λ and performed better at λ > 3.0 due to less blade-wake interactions between upstream and downstream halves of the turbine and lower blockage effect. The findings lend substantially to our understanding of physics flow around blades and turbine in order to optimize the power performance of small scale straight-bladed Darrieus VAWT operating in unsteady and turbulence wind condition.

scholarly journals Double-Multiple Streamtube Analysis of a Flexible Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Lalit Roy ◽  
Kellis Kincaid ◽  
Roohany Mahmud ◽  
David W. MacPhee
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine ◽  
Lower Efficiency ◽  
Major Disadvantage ◽  
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines ◽  
Operational Range ◽  
Naca 0012

Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have drawn increased attention for off-grid and off-shore power generation due to inherent advantages over the more popular horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs). Among these advantages are generator locale, omni-directionality and simplistic design. However, one major disadvantage is lower efficiency, which can be alleviated through blade pitching. Since each blade must transit both up- and down-stream each revolution, VAWT blade pitching techniques are not yet commonplace due to increased complexity and cost. Utilizing passively-morphing flexible blades can offer similar results as active pitching, requiring no sensors or actuators, and has shown promise in increasing VAWT performance in select cases. In this study, wind tunnel tests have been conducted with flexible and rigid-bladed NACA 0012 airfoils, in order to provide necessary input data for a Double-Multiple Stream-Tube (DMST) model. The results from this study indicate that a passively-morphing VAWT can achieve a maximum power coefficient (Cp) far exceeding that for a rigid-bladed VAWT CP (18.9% vs. 10%) with reduced normal force fluctuations as much as 6.9%. Operational range of tip-speed ratio also is observed to increase by a maximum of 40.3%.

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