Numerical simulations of a VAWT in the wake of a moving car

Abstract

Wind energy generated from the wake of moving cars has a large energy potential that has not yet been utilized. In this study, a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) was used to recover energy from the wakes of moving cars. The turbine was designed to be planted by the side of the car lane and driven by the wake produced by the car. Transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to evaluate the performance of the VAWT. The influence of two main factors on the performance of the VAWT, the velocity of the car and the gap between the car and the rotor, were studied. The simulations confirmed the feasibility of this plan, and in the tested cases, the VAWT was able to generate a maximum energy output of 100.49 J from the wake of a car. The results also showed that the performance of the VAWT decreased with the velocity of the car, and the increased gap between the car and the VAWT.