Numerical investigations of a novel vertical axis wind turbine using Blade Element Theory‐Vortex Filament Method (BET‐VFM)

Abstract

Abstract The aerodynamic performance of three different configurations of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT), namely: (a) conventional Darrieus troposkein VAWT (based on turbines designed by Sandia National Laboratories), (b) novel 50% STS‐VAWT (50% shifted‐troposkein‐shaped STS‐VAWT), and (c) novel 100% STS‐VAWT were investigated numerically. An in‐house code, which combined the blade element theory (BET) and the vortex filament method (VFM), was used. The main purpose of this work was to develop an aerodynamic code to predict the performance of conventional VAWT as well as assess the novel 50% and 100% STS‐VAWT configurations. Simulation results (power coefficients) were verified and then validated against experimental data available from the literature (2‐, 5‐, and 17‐m conventional troposkein VAWT measured by Sandia National Laboratories). Additional numerical results showed that the 50% STS‐VAWT outperformed both the conventional VAWT and the 100% STS‐VAWT by up to 14% (peak power), within the range of rotation and turbine sizes that were investigated in the present work.

Keywords

• Blade‐Vortex interaction
• Darrieus Troposkein vertical axis wind turbine
• vertical axis wind turbine