Performance Analysis and Optimization of a Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine with a High Tip-Speed Ratio

Liang Li, Inderjit Chopra, Weidong Zhu and Meilin Yu
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Liang Li: School of Mechanics and Optoelectronic Physics, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Inderjit Chopra: Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Weidong Zhu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
Meilin Yu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-30

Abstract: In this work, the aerodynamic performance and optimization of a vertical-axis wind turbine with a high tip-speed ratio are theoretically studied on the basis of the two-dimensional airfoil theory. By dividing the rotating plane of the airfoil into the upwind and downwind areas, the relationship among the angle of attack, azimuth, pitch angle, and tip-speed ratio is derived using the quasi-steady aerodynamic model, and aerodynamic loads on the airfoil are then obtained. By applying the polynomial approximation to functions of lift and drag coefficients with the angle of attack for symmetric and asymmetric airfoils, respectively, explicit expressions of aerodynamic loads as functions of the angle of attack are obtained. The performance of a fixed-pitch blade is studied by employing a NACA0012 model, and influences of the tip speed ratio, pitch angle, chord length, rotor radius, incoming wind speed and rotational speed on the performance of the blade are discussed. Furthermore, the optimization problem based on the dynamic-pitch method is investigated by considering the maximum value problem of the instantaneous torque as a function of the pitch angle. Dynamic-pitch laws for symmetric and asymmetric airfoils are derived.

Keywords: performance; optimization; vertical-axis wind turbine; dynamic pitch (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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