Open AccessNumerical investigations of a novel vertical axis wind turbine using Blade Element Theory‐Vortex Filament Method ( BET ‐ VFM )
Author(s) -
Hilewit Doma,
Matida Edgar,
Fereidooni Amin,
Abo el Ella Hamza,
Nitzsche Fred
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
energy science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.638
H-Index - 29
ISSN - 2050-0505
DOI - 10.1002/ese3.438
Subject(s) - vertical axis wind turbine , aerodynamics , aerospace engineering , vortex , computational fluid dynamics , turbine , finite element method , wind power , structural engineering , engineering , marine engineering , physics , meteorology , electrical engineering
The aerodynamic performance of three different configurations of vertical axis wind turbines ( VAWT ), namely: (a) conventional Darrieus troposkein VAWT (based on turbines designed by Sandia National Laboratories), (b) novel 50% STS ‐ VAWT (50% shifted‐troposkein‐shaped STS ‐ VAWT ), and (c) novel 100% STS ‐ VAWT were investigated numerically. An in‐house code, which combined the blade element theory ( BET ) and the vortex filament method ( VFM ), was used. The main purpose of this work was to develop an aerodynamic code to predict the performance of conventional VAWT as well as assess the novel 50% and 100% STS ‐ VAWT configurations. Simulation results (power coefficients) were verified and then validated against experimental data available from the literature (2‐, 5‐, and 17‐m conventional troposkein VAWT measured by Sandia National Laboratories). Additional numerical results showed that the 50% STS ‐ VAWT outperformed both the conventional VAWT and the 100% STS ‐ VAWT by up to 14% (peak power), within the range of rotation and turbine sizes that were investigated in the present work.