State-of-the-art in development of diffuser augmented wind turbines (DAWT) for sustainable buildings

Abstract

In this paper, a review of the development of Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbines (DAWT’s) into the Built Environment has been presented. DAWT’s offer a lot of potential as electricity providers in areas where it is needed, such as in the built environment. Research into DAWT’s has revealed that flow along a building significantly affects inlet conditions to the rotor due to flow separation at the leading edge. Adjusting the area ratio, length/diameter ratio as well as diffuser design can improve the performance of the free-standing DAWT significantly. Placing the turbine at the centre of a roof is found to allow the best wind conditions to the wind turbine. It was found that a turbine can be placed at a height 1.3 times the height of a small building for the best results. It has been found that vaulted roof’s encourage acceleration of air flow better than other topologies. Furthermore, a recent approach to building-integrated wind turbines involves a flow-enhancing architectural design for buildings to improve favourable inlet conditions to a DAWT.