Investigation on aerodynamic performance of H-type darrius vertical axis wind turbine with different series airfoil shapes

Abstract

Wind energy is one of the most important renewable energies since it reduces environmental pollution. Darrieus VAWTs with straight blades are more prevalent in small-scale power generation due to their simple blade design and easy construction. The investigation of the performance of VAWTs is a topic that is fascinating for researchers to look into. Researchers have paid special attention to the Double Multiple Stream tube (DMST) models for VAWT simulation because of the good correlation between the DMST model and the experimental results. In this paper, double multiple stream-tube analysis is performed using MATLAB programming to predict the aerodynamic performance of H-type Darrieus fixed pitch VAWT, more specifically, the power coefficient (Cp) and the tip speed ratio (TSR). The fact that the H-type Darrieus rotor has poor self-starting despite having a good power coefficient which is a constant worry at low wind speeds. The selection of the air foil is one of the most essential factors to take into account while trying to enhance the aerodynamic performance of H-type Darrieus fixed pitch VAWT. In this study, first, results from experiments were used for the validation of the model, and then, 4 different families of symmetrical air foils were compared. The results indicate that the symmetrical air foil S-1046 showed exceptional aerodynamic performance and a high starting torque for a low wind speed of 4 m/s.