Computational Fluid Dynamics Prediction of a Modified Savonius Wind Turbine with Novel Blade Shapes

Wenlong Tian, Baowei Song, James H. VanZwieten and Parakram Pyakurel
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Wenlong Tian: School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, China
Baowei Song: School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, China
James H. VanZwieten: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
Parakram Pyakurel: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: The Savonius wind turbine is a type of vertical axis wind turbine (VAWTs) that is simply composed of two or three arc-type blades which can generate power even under poor wind conditions. A modified Savonius wind turbine with novel blade shapes is introduced with the aim of increasing the power coefficient of the turbine. The effect of blade fullness, which is a main shape parameter of the blade, on the power production of a two-bladed Savonius wind turbine is investigated using transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Simulations are based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a renormalization group turbulent model. This numerical method is validated with existing experimental data and then utilized to quantify the performance of design variants. Results quantify the relationship between blade fullness and turbine performance with a blade fullness of 1 resulting in the highest coefficient of power, 0.2573. This power coefficient is 10.98% higher than a conventional Savonius turbine.

Keywords: vertical axis wind turbine; Savonius; Myring Equation; computational fluid dynamics (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: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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