Velocity measurements and numerical calculations of flow fields in and around Savonius rotors

Abstract

Abstract The flow fields in and around Savonius rotors at various overlap ratios have been investigated to clarify the effect of overlap on the flow mechanisms. Measurements of phase-averaged velocity distributions were carried out using particle imaging velocimetry with a conditional sampling technique, and the results were compared with numerical calculations by a discrete vortex method. The measured velocity distributions indicate clearly the effect of the overlap both on the flow through the overlap and on the formation region of the vortices downstream of the rotor. Although numerical calculations can predict the basic features of the variation of the flow field with rotor angle, the flow field of a stationary rotor, especially at small rotor angles, is not well reproduced in the calculations, suggesting that the assumptions of flow separation at the tips of the blades and the two-dimensionality of the flow are invalid. However, the correlation with measurement is improved for the flow over a rotating rotor.