Improving the efficiency and the wake recovery rate of vertical-axis turbines using detached end-plates

Thierry Villeneuve, Matthieu Boudreau and Guy Dumas

Renewable Energy, 2020, vol. 150, issue C, 31-45

Abstract: In the present work, Delayed Detached-Eddy Simulations (DDES) are conducted to evaluate the performance of an H-Darrieus vertical-axis turbine with detached end-plates, namely stationary end-plates that are not in contact with the turbine blades. More precisely, the force and the power coefficients of the turbine are analyzed for two different geometries of detached end-plates. The turbine wake dynamics is also presented and the main mechanisms responsible for the wake recovery rate are assessed. The results show that the presence of detached end-plates significantly increases the efficiency of the vertical-axis turbine considered. In addition to this improved efficiency, a semi-annular shape of detached end-plate leads to an improved recovery of the mean streamwise velocity in the turbine wake. The important wake recovery rate in the near-wake of the turbine with semi-annular detached end-plates is mainly related to the transport of momentum by the mean spanwise velocity field, which is also known to be the dominant contribution to the wake recovery rate of a turbine without detached end-plates. The results presented in this paper confirm that detached end-plates have a great potential to improve the performance of H-Darrieus vertical-axis turbines used both individually and within turbine farms.

Keywords: Wind turbine; Hydrokinetic turbine; Cross-flow turbine; Darrieus turbine; VAWT; Tip vortex (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:150:y:2020:i:c:p:31-45

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2019.12.088

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