scholarly journals Computational Analysis of VAWT Micro Wind Farm for Urban Rooftops

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Tahir Abbas Jauhar ◽  
Sajjad Miran ◽  
Waseem Arif ◽  
Asad Muneer ◽  
Zara Mukaddas

Technological advancements have improved energy efficiency and increased energy requirements requiring improved energy density solutions to optimally utilize the existing landscape. The renewable energy density of urban rooftops can be increased by introducing micro wind farms consisting of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT). VAWTs do not require directed flow thus a feasible choice. In this paper, the preliminary study for parametric design of horizontal distance between two identical Savonius wind turbines is presented. Three different simulations were performed to reveal important insights about this problem with an inlet velocity of 2 m/s. The results suggest 3D analysis for accurate insights.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 8000
Author(s):  
Abel Arredondo-Galeana ◽  
Feargal Brennan

The offshore wind sector is expanding to deep water locations through floating platforms. This poses challenges to horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) due to the ever growing size of blades and floating support structures. As such, maintaining the structural integrity and reducing the levelised cost of energy (LCoE) of floating HAWTs seems increasingly difficult. An alternative to these challenges could be found in floating offshore vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). It is known that VAWTs have certain advantages over HAWTs, and in fact, some small-scale developers have successfully commercialised their onshore prototypes. In contrast, it remains unknown whether VAWTs can offer an advantage for deep water floating offshore wind farms. Therefore, here we present a multi-criteria review of different aspects of VAWTs to address this question. It is found that wind farm power density and reliability could be decisive factors to make VAWTs a feasible alternative for deep water floating arrays. Finally, we propose a way forward based on the findings of this review.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zheng ◽  
Zhang Wenda ◽  
Han Ruihua ◽  
Qi Weiqiang

Background: In a wind farm, the wind speed of the downstream wind turbine will be lower than the wind speed of the upstream wind turbine due to the influence of the wake. Therefore, the wake of wind turbines is one of the uncertain factors predicting the annual power generation of wind farms. The study of the wake can effectively improve the efficiency of power generation. The arrangement of vertical axis wind turbines in wind farms is rarely studied. Therefore, it is important to study the vertical layout of wind turbines under the influence of wakes to obtain the best layout and unit spacing. Objective: To obtain the optimal layout and unit distance of wind turbines in Senegal wind turbines by studying the arrangement of Senegal vertical axis wind turbines in wind farms. Method: Based on the ANSYS CFX flow field calculation module, the fluid dynamics model of the Senegal fan was established and the flow field simulation analysis was carried out. Based on the Jensen wake model and its improved model, three layout methods for wind farm wind turbines are proposed: two units are arranged in series, two units are arranged in parallel, and three units are staggered. Through the simulation model, the wind energy utilization coefficient and wind speed of the wind turbine in the wind farm are obtained. Results: The optimal separation distance between the units was analyzed from four different angles: wind energy utilization coefficient, torque analysis, downstream tail flow and wind speed cloud contour. Finally, based on the optimal arrangement and unit distance, a triangular staggered wind farm composed of 10 units is established, and the integrated flow field characteristics of the whole wind farm are simulated and analyzed. The integrated flow field wake characteristics of the wind farm are obtained. Conclusion: In all three arrangements, the optimum distance between the units should be three times the diameter of the wind turbine. This arrangement ensures that most of the units are unaffected by the wake, the area affected by the low velocity wake of the wind farm is small, and the area affected by the high speed wake is large.


Author(s):  
Xiaomin Chen ◽  
Ramesh Agarwal

In this paper, we consider the Wind Farm layout optimization problem using a genetic algorithm. Both the Horizontal–Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) and Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) are considered. The goal of the optimization problem is to optimally place the turbines within the wind farm such that the wake effects are minimized and the power production is maximized. The reasonably accurate modeling of the turbine wake is critical in determination of the optimal layout of the turbines and the power generated. For HAWT, two wake models are considered; both are found to give similar answers. For VAWT, a very simple wake model is employed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Ning

Abstract. Actuator cylinder theory is an effective approach for analyzing the aerodynamic performance of vertical axis wind turbines at a conceptual design level. Existing actuator cylinder theory can analyze single turbines, but analysis of multiple turbines is often desirable because turbines may operate in near proximity within a wind farm. For vertical axis wind turbines, which tend to operate in closer proximity than do horizontal axis turbines, aerodynamic interactions may not be strictly confined to wake interactions. We modified actuator cylinder theory to permit the simultaneous solution of aerodynamic loading for any number of turbines. We also extended the theory to handle thrust coefficients outside of the momentum region and explicitly defined the additional terms needed for curved or swept blades. While the focus of this paper is a derivation of an extended methodology, an application of this theory was explored involving two turbines operating in close proximity. Comparisons were made against two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulations, across a full 360° of inflow, with excellent agreement. The counter-rotating turbines produced a 5–10 % increase in power across a wide range of inflow conditions. A second comparison was made to a three-dimensional RANS simulation with a different turbine under different conditions. While only one data point was available, the agreement was reasonable, with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predicting a 12 % power loss, as compared to a 15 % power loss for the actuator cylinder method. This extended theory appears promising for conceptual design studies of closely spaced vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs), but further development and validation is needed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 953-954 ◽  
pp. 395-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lih Shyng Shyu

The purpose of this study is to investigate the parameters that affect the cost-effectiveness of wind farm land use and wind energy harvesting efficiency. The research team applies two reverse rotating vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) to explore how wind speed and various distances of wind turbines affect the operation efficiency of a prospective wind farm. A data acquisition system has been constructed to record the wind speed along with a variety of wind turbine output data in a wind tunnel test in order to identify the layout that help to achieve the best wind harvesting efficiency. The layout is then applied in the field test for further observation and data collection. The experiment results show 1) when two VAWTs are moved toward each other (from 300 cm to 180 cm), both turbines observe performance gain, and 2) when two VAWTs are set at a distance of 1.5 to 2.0 times the turbine diameter, the performance of both units increases by about 11% over the efficiency obtainable by their stand-alone counterpart.


2015 ◽  
Vol 793 ◽  
pp. 388-392
Author(s):  
Farhan Ahmed Khammas ◽  
Kadhim Hussein Suffer ◽  
Ryspek Usubamatov ◽  
Mohmmad Taufiq Mustaffa

This paper reviews the available types of wind turbine which is one of the wind energy applications. The authors intend to give investors a better idea of which turbine is suitable for a particular setting and to provide a new outlook on vertical axis wind turbines. Wind technology has grown substantially since its original use as a method to grind grains and will only continue to grow. Vertical-axis wind turbines are more compact and suitable for residential and commercial areas while horizontal-axis wind turbines are more suitable for wind farms in rural areas or offshore. However, technological advances in vertical axis wind turbines that are able to generate more energy with a smaller footprint are now challenging the traditional use of horizontal wind turbines in wind farms. Vertical axis wind turbines do not need to be oriented to the wind direction and offer direct rotary output to a ground-level load, making them particularly suitable for water pumping, heating, purification and aeration, as well as stand-alone electricity generation. The use of high efficiency Darrieus turbines for such applications is virtually prohibited by their inherent inability to self-start.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Ning

Abstract. Actuator cylinder theory is an effective approach for analyzing the aerodynamic performance of vertical axis wind turbines at a conceptual design level. Existing actuator cylinder theory can analyze single turbines, but analysis of multiple turbines is often desirable because turbines operate in near proximity within a wind farm. For vertical axis wind turbines, which tend to operate in closer proximity than do horizontal axis turbines, aerodynamic interactions may not be strictly confined to wake interactions. We modified actuator cylinder theory to permit the simultaneous solution of aerodynamic loading for any number of turbines. We also extended the theory to handle thrust coefficients outside of the momentum region, and explicitly defined the additional terms needed for curved or swept blades. It is found that even out of the wake zone, aerodynamic interactions are not negligible at typical separation distances (i.e., 3–6 rotor diameters). If turbines are co-rotating then for the two turbine cases examined in this paper the sum of the total power was effectively constant except within the wake zone. However, if turbines counter-rotate then both beneficial and detrimental changes in power production were observed depending on the relative positions. However, these benefits are on the order of a few percent and unlikely to be advantageous in practice because of wake interference, except for within highly directional wind sites. Limitations of these analyses identified the need for integration with viscous wake models, and potentially with higher-fidelity induced velocity models.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 6281
Author(s):  
Jia Guo ◽  
Liping Lei

Currently, vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) are considered as an alternative technology to horizontal axis wind turbines in specific wind conditions, such as offshore farms. However, complex unsteady wake structures of VAWTs exert a significant influence on performance of wind turbines and wind farms. In the present study, instantaneous flow fields around and downstream of an innovative VAWT with inclined pitch axes are simulated by an actuator line model. Unsteady flow characteristics around the wind turbine with variations of azimuthal angles are discussed. Several fluid parameters are then evaluated on horizontal and vertical planes under conditions of various fold angles and incline angles. Results show that the total estimated wind energy in the shadow of the wind turbine with an incline angle of 30° and 150° is 4.6% higher than that with an incline angle of 90°. In this way, appropriate arrangements of wind turbines with various incline angles have the potential to obtain more power output in a wind farm.


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