Performance Analysis of a New Vertical Axis Turbine Design for Household Usage

Abstract

The popularity of small wind turbines intended for domestic use has significantly increased during the recent years, and it is reasonable to assume that this trend will continue given the present political and economic environment. There is a greater need for clean, pollution-free energy due to worries about climate change. In this study, a 1.5 KW vertical-axis Darrieus helix wind turbine for residential use was designed and its performance was mathematically evaluated under typical wind speed circumstances of 12 m/s. The study is split into two sections: In the first, we examined a standard wind turbine design with three identical blades, whereas in the second, the blades were different, each with a unique airfoil with a varying chord, even though they shared the same rotor diameter. For each case, 5 CFD simulations were performed in order to determine the power characteristics of the wind turbines. To correctly set up the computational domain, the number of elements and the minimum element size were taken into account whereas mesh dependency analysis was performed. In order to compare the results, the vorticity magnitude was measured at 4 different blade locations in each boundary condition. The results showed that when the power coefficient of the turbines is considered, such geometry adjustments are possible. Furthermore, the evolution of the torque coefficient over a full 360-degree rotation was studied. A summary of the improvements in performance resulting from the geometry adjustment is provided.