Qualitative and quantitative assessments of an Archimedes Spiral Wind Turbine performance augmented by A concentrator

Abstract

Wind power is one of the fastest developing alternative energy technologies. Continuous improvement of the performance of urban wind turbines has become essential to achieving sustainability for developing countries to reduce dependence on fossil fuel. However, conventional wind turbines are designed with wind speeds higher than 5 m/s. This value limits the choice of wind turbines that can be implemented. A new type of horizontal axis wind turbine, namely, Archimedes spiral wind turbine (ASWT) is designed for urban utilization. It is characterized as a lift-drag type wind turbine. In the present work, the aerodynamic characteristics of the ASWT and its performance were investigated using 3D numerical analysis. Furthermore, a concentrator has been augmented to the ASWT to improve the turbine performance. The maximum power coefficient, CP, obtained from the analysis was 0.311 at tip speed ratio, TSR, equals 2. This maximum CP for ASWT augmented by a concentrator is increased by 33.48% compared with bare ASWT. The best configuration of the concentrator is at a position of 0.1 of the rotor diameter, concentrator angle of 20°, and tip clearance of 0.05 of the rotor diameter, and concentrator length of 0.6 of the rotor diameter.