Author(s)

Suchaya Unsakul, Chaianant Sranpat, Pongchalat Chaisiriroj, Thananchai Leephakpreeda^*

School of Manufacturing Systems and Mechanical Engineering, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat Uni-versity, Pathum Thani, Thailand.

This paper presents effects of design factors on mechanical performance of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs), and an experimental investigation of optimal VAWT performance under low wind speed conditions in Thailand. Design factors include types of wind turbines, number of blades, types of materials, height-to-radius ratios, and design modifications. Potential VAWT models with different design factors are numerically analyzed within a virtual wind tunnel at various wind speeds by utilizing Xflow^TM Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. The performance curves of each VAWT are obtained as plots of power coefficients against tip speed ratios. It is found that the type of wind turbine, number of blades, and height-to-radius ratio have significant effects on mechanical performance whereas types of materials result in shifts of operating speeds of VAWTs. Accordingly, an optimal VAWT prototype is developed to operate under actual low speed wind conditions. The performance curve from experimental results agrees with the CFD results. The proposed methodology can be used in the computer design of VAWTs to improve mechanical performance before physical fabrication.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, CFD Analysis, Experimental Technique, Low Wind Speed, Power Coefficient, Tip Speed Ratio

Unsakul, S. , Sranpat, C. , Chaisiriroj, P. and Leephakpreeda, T. (2017) CFD-Based Performance Analysis and Experimental Investigation of Design Factors of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines under Low Wind Speed Conditions in Thailand. Journal of Flow Control, Measurement & Visualization, 5, 86-98. doi: 10.4236/jfcmv.2017.54007.