Optimization of Straight-bladed Darrieus type vertical axis wind blade for low wind speed

Abstract

Straight-bladed Darrieus blade is a type of vertical axis wind turbine that requires low wind speed to operate but is considered less efficient due to conventional blade geometry. To increase its performance by means of dynamic torque, the study used a statistical method, central composite design, through DesignExpert software. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) through SolidWorks Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes Equation (RANS) k – epsilon turbulence model was used to simulate the Design of Experiments. The study was composed of two phases, namely 2D and 3D simulations. The 2D simulation studied the effect of varying the camber, camber location, and thickness to the dynamic torque, while the 3D simulation varied the blade height, rotor radius, and materials. The camber’s optimal conditions, camber location, and thickness in 2D simulations are 4.75%, 45%, and 15.50% of the chord, respectively. These optimal design values could reach the dynamic torque equivalent to 60.6571 Newton-meter. Meanwhile, the blade height and rotor radius of the 3D simulations have optimal design values of 4.41 meters and 4.75 meters, respectively. These optimal values could increase the dynamic torque to 2310.01 Newton-meter. The dynamic torque of the optimal design obtained a 133% significant increase compared to the conventional blade. Thus, the research has proven the increase in the Darrieus Wind turbine’s performance by varying its blade geometry.