Abstract
This paper focuses on a computational and experimental study of flat-shaped turbine blades for a small scale Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). In the computational analysis, a 2-Dimensional (2D) wind turbine model with three flat blades was designed using Ansys Flu-ent, which is computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. The wind speed around the blades was simulated in a range of 3 m/s to 8 m/s. Velocity and pressure distributions of the airflow around the blades were then observed. Pressures acting on the blades surface were then averaged and used to estimate the angular speed of the wind turbine model using the principles of torque and moment of inertia. A small-scale prototype was designed, fabricated and tested to validate the simulation result. Testing results show that the wind turbine prototype can rotate with an average speed of 148.8 rpm when having a 3.27 m/s wind speed. At the similar wind speed, the simulation result has estimated the angular speed to be 119 rpm. The percentage difference of the angular speed is about 20%. .
Highlights
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural processes that are continually replenished, renewed and hardly exhausted such as sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides, water, and biomass
Dumitrascu et al for Romanian regions to estimate the reliability function and hazard rate. This type of wind turbine is easy to mount on a rooftop and suitable for a small scale wind turbine application [4]
This study further explores the development of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) blades for low wind speed environments using computational fluid dynamics simulation, which is later validated by an experimental test
Summary
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural processes that are continually replenished, renewed and hardly exhausted such as sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides, water, and biomass. Ion Nila et al have studied the small fixed pitch straight bladed vertical axis wind turbine (SB-VAWT), which is one of the simplest types of a wind turbine. This wind turbine accepts winds from any angle of directions and it is suitable for wind speeds around 3 to 6 m/s [3]. Dumitrascu et al for Romanian regions to estimate the reliability function and hazard rate This type of wind turbine is easy to mount on a rooftop and suitable for a small scale wind turbine application [4]. This study further explores the development of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) blades for low wind speed environments using computational fluid dynamics simulation, which is later validated by an experimental test. A prototype of the blades design is built and tested to compare the angular speeds between the experiment and simulation
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