Self-Starting Characteristics and Flow-Induced Rotation of Single- and Dual-Stage Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines

Muhammad Saif Ullah Khalid, David Wood and Arman Hemmati ()
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Muhammad Saif Ullah Khalid: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada
David Wood: Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Arman Hemmati: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: Despite offering promising opportunities for wind energy harvesting in urban environments, vertical axis wind turbines face limitations in terms of poor starting characteristics. In this study, we focus on analyzing improvements offered by dual-stage turbines for a range of wind velocities. Numerical simulations are performed for different phase angles between the rotors (a measure of relative angular positions of the blades in the two rotors) to quantify the response time for their starting behavior. These simulations rely on a through sliding mesh technique coupled with flow-induced rotations. We find that for U ∞ = 4 m / s , the phase angles of 30 ∘ and 90 ∘ substantially reduce starting time in comparison to a single-stage turbine. Dual-stage turbines with a phase angle of 90 ∘ exhibit similar or better starting behavior for other wind speeds. The phase angle of 0 ∘ in double-rotor turbines shows the poorest starting response. Moreover, it is revealed that stabilization of shear layers generated by the blades passing through the windward side of the turbine, vortex-entrapment by these rotating blades, and suppressing of flow structures in the middle of the wake enhance the capacity of VAWTs to achieve faster steady angular speed.

Keywords: wind energy; vertical axis wind turbines; wake dynamics; computational fluid dynamics (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: 2022
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