Double Multiple Streamtube Model and Numerical Analysis of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Habtamu Beri, Yingxue Yao

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DOI: 10.4236/epe.2011.33033                

Abstract

The present paper contributes to the modeling of unsteady flow analysis of vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). Double multiple streamtube (DSMT) model was applied for the performance prediction of straight bladed fixed pitch VAWT using NACA0018 airfoil at low wind speed. A moving mesh technique was used to investigate two-dimensional unsteady flow around the same VAWT model with NACA0018 airfoil modified to be flexible at 150 from the main blade axis of the turbine at the trailing edge located about 70 % of the blade chord length using fluent solving Reynolds average Navier-strokes equation. The results obtained from DMST model and the simulation results were then compared. The result shows that the CFD simulation with airfoil modified has shown better performance at low tip speed ratios for the modeled turbine.

Keywords

Wind Turbine, Actuator Disk, Momentum Model, Stream Tube, VAWT, CFD

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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