A numerical study on choosing the best configuration of the blade for vertical axis wind turbines. Issue 201 (June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Tiantian; Wang, Zhenguo; Huang, Wei; Ingham, Derek; Ma, Lin; Pourkashanian, Mohamed
• Is Part Of: Journal of wind engineering and industrial aerodynamics. Issue 201(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-06
• Subjects: VAWTs -- Kriging model -- NACA 4 digits aerofoil -- Numerical simulation; Wind-pressure -- Periodicals; Buildings -- Aerodynamics -- Periodicals; Pression du vent -- Périodiques; Constructions -- Aérodynamique -- Périodiques; Buildings -- Aerodynamics; Wind-pressure; Periodicals
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104162
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0167-6105

Abstract

Abstract: Detailed studies on wind turbines have been attracting increasing attention in recent years in order to save fossil resources and protect the environment. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are not as popular as horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) because of their relatively low efficiency. Based on CFD approaches, this paper studies the influence of the aerofoil's maximum camber as well as its position along the chord on the performance of the VAWT. During this process, a Kriging model is established to reflect the functional relationship between the design variables and the power coefficient of the VAWT and the numerical samples of the blade configuration for this model are accessed by the Latin Hypercube Sampling approach. The influence of the aerofoil's thickness is studied based on the two-dimensional symmetrical NACA 4 digits aerofoils. In addition, based on a three-dimensional numerical model, this paper investigates the influence of the blade's configuration along the spanwise direction on the blade's power coefficient and the flow characteristics around it. The current results show that the straight blade with a symmetrical aerofoil has the best power efficiency. Also, the thickness of the NACA0018 aerofoil is the most suitable for the operating conditions investigated. Highlights: Surrogate based study on the blade profile of the VAWT. Detailed study on the blade configuration from the 2D simulation to the 3D simulation. A reproducible parametric approach as well as the following numerical work.