Effect of a winglet on the Power Augmentation of Straight Bladed Darrieus Wind Turbine

Abstract

There has been an increased interest in enhancing the relatively low power coefficient of the Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWTs) for wider applications. Winglets are an effective solution for improving the aerodynamic performance in the aerospace field, and this paper numerically studies the aerodynamic effect of adding a winglet on the blade of a VAWT. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) base model is verified by experimental data from the available literature. The present work compares the effect of a winglet on the turbine performance of a VAWT. As a result, the power performance of the turbine with the appended winglets increases. The winglet assists in maintaining the pressure between the two sides of the blades. And, thus, weakens the tip vortex and improves the aerodynamic efficiency of the turbine blade.