Investigation of the Optimal Omni-Direction-Guide-Vane Design for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Based on Unsteady Flow CFD Simulation

Behzad Shahizare, Nik Nazri Bin Nik Ghazali, Wen Tong Chong, Seyed Saeed Tabatabaeikia and Nima Izadyar
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Behzad Shahizare: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nik Nazri Bin Nik Ghazali: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Wen Tong Chong: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Seyed Saeed Tabatabaeikia: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nima Izadyar: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: With soaring energy demands, the desire to explore alternate and renewable energy resources has become the focal point of various active research fronts. Therefore, the scientific community is revisiting the notion to tap wind resources in more rigorous and novel ways. In this study, a two-dimensional computational investigation of the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with omni-direction-guide-vane (ODGV) is proposed to determine the effects of this guide vane. In addition, the mesh and time step ( dt ) size dependency test, as well as the effect of the different turbulence models on results accuracy are investigated. Eight different shape ratios ( R ) of the omni-direction-guide-vane were also examined in this study. Further, the CFD model is validated by comparing the numerical results with the experimental data. Validation results show a good agreement in terms of shape and trend in CFD simulation. Based on these results, all the shape ratios, except two ratios including 0.3 and 0.4 at TSR of 1.3 to 3, have a positive effect on the power and torque coefficient improvement. Moreover, results show that the best case has a shape ratio of 0.55, which improves the power coefficient by 48% and the torque coefficient up to 58%.

Keywords: vertical axis wind turbine; guide vane; CFD; turbulence model; shape ratio (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: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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