Mathematical modeling for H-type vertical axis wind turbine

Abstract

H-type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), with higher wind energy utilization, is one of the most common forms of Darrieus-type vertical axis wind turbine. A simplified mathematical modeling analysis is proposed to obtain the performance of H-type VAWT in this research. Blade element momentum theory is used to calculation the power and efficiency of H-type VAWT, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used in two dimensional numerical simulation for the flow field performance of H-type VAWT. The renormalization-group (RNG) k-ε two equations turbulence model is selected as a computational model for analyzing the flow-field distribution of the wind turbine in different locations. The aerodynamic performance with change of attack angle, the force and torque on blade elements is analyzed by proposed mathematical model. Finally, some aerodynamic properties are discussed for H-type VAWT such as the relationships between rotational speed and the tip speed ratio, the speed vector distributions of the rotor in different locations, and the torque moment characteristics to over time.