A numerical and experimental study on the performance of a conventional H- Darrieus wind rotor with auxiliary blades

Abstract

This article presents a numerical and experimental investigation of the performance of a conventional H- Darrieus rotor (Known as H-rotor) equipped with auxiliary blades. The study aims to improve the starting ability and the power coefficient (Cp) of the H- rotor. A numerical model is developed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS Fluent to simulate the flow field around the rotor. The model is validated with experimental results obtained from a laboratory-scale test rig. From the pressure contour and flow streamline analysis, it can conclude that the auxiliary airfoil serves as a boundary control device, reducing the amount of flow separation and turbulence around the main blade, which further improves the performance of the H-rotor. From the experimental results, the maximum static torque coefficient (Cts) and Cp of the modified H- rotor were found to be 0.11 and 0.18, which is 84% and 22% higher than the conventional H-rotor, respectively. The study concludes that the use of auxiliary blades can enhance the performance of the H-rotor and make it a more competitive option for harnessing wind energy in low-wind speed regions. The findings of this study could have significant implications for the development of small-scale wind turbines.