Effect of different pitch angles on the performance parameter of the horizontal axis wind turbine using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

Wind energy is one of the clean, sustainable types of energy that can deal with the current worldwide non-renewable energy source emergency. Even though it adds to 2.5% of the worldwide power request, with depletion of petroleum derivative sources, extraction of wind energy must reach to a more prominent degree to meet the energy emergency and issue of contamination. Now, to improve the aerodynamic response of a wind turbine, the blade pitch control is an effective method, usually applied to large-scale wind turbines. The present work incorporates an investigation of the impact of varied pitch angles on the performance parameters of a horizontal axis wind turbine. CFD code Fluent has been used to perform the simulations. A total of eight pitch angles are considered in this investigation. In addition to it, a numerical investigation of S809 airfoil has been performed and validated by a series of benchmark data. The SST k-w turbulence model has been utilized. The steady-state simulation is performed around a HAWT blade using multiple reference frame. It is seen that torque increases with an increase in wind velocity and decreases with an increase in pitch angle. The optimum pitch angle is obtained for maximum power generation.