Effect of Helix Angle on the Performance of Helical Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Unnikrishnan Divakaran, Ajith Ramesh, Akram Mohammad and Ratna Kishore Velamati
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Unnikrishnan Divakaran: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore 641112, India
Ajith Ramesh: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore 641112, India
Akram Mohammad: Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Faculty of Engineeirng, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Ratna Kishore Velamati: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore 641112, India

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-24

Abstract: The energy crisis has forced researchers to look for various non-conventional energy sources. Wind energy is one of the potential sources, and researchers have invested resources in developing different kinds of wind turbines. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) have received less attention than their horizontal-axis counterparts. A helical-bladed VAWT is preferred because it makes perfect sense as an improvement in design, as they have higher azimuth angles of power generation capabilities. This paper studies the effects of the helix angle of blades in the aerodynamic performance of VAWT using 3D numerical simulations. Three different helix angles of 60°, 90°, and 120° of a three-bladed VAWT operating across different tip speed ratios were studied. Turbulence is modelled using a four-equation transition SST k-ω model (shear stress transport). The 60° helical-bladed VAWT was found to be better performing in comparison with all other helical-bladed and straight-bladed VAWT. The ripple effects on the shaft are also analysed using a standard deviation plot of the moment coefficient generated by a single blade over one complete cycle of its rotation. It was observed that the greater the helix angle, the lower the standard deviation. The paper also tries to analyse the percentage of power generated by each quartile of flow and the contribution of each section of the blade. Ansys FLUENT was employed for the entire study. A comparative study between different helical-bladed VAWT and straight-bladed VAWT was carried out along with wake structure analysis and flow contours for a better understanding of the flow field.

Keywords: vertical axis wind turbine; wind energy; helical blade; CFD (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 (1)

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