Performance analysis of small scale variable pitch Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Abstract

In this paper, the changeable pitching method is used to improve the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) power output for electric energy generations to partially meet the energy needs for domestic use in a place where continuous wind flow is available. The preset or unchangeable pitch turbines cannot start on their own because of negative tangential force acting on the blades of the turbine. Therefore, the variable pitching method is introduced to solve the starting problem of wind turbines and increase the turbine's efficiency in the form of a power coefficient. The cam and follower variable pitch method is employed for the present analysis. In this research paper, the analytical analysis is done with the momentum stream tube model named as DMST model. The turbine model is tested, and the test results show that the power coefficient (Cp) increases with tip speed ratio, and a maximum power coefficient of about 0.35 is obtained at l = 2.5 at 10 m/s wind speed.

Keywords

• small scale wind turbine
• momentum stream tube representation
• power coefficient
• wind speed
• pitch angle
• tip speed ratio