Aerodynamic Analysis of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine in a Diffuser

Abstract

Wind energy in the urban environment faces complex and often unfavorable wind conditions. High turbulence, lower average wind velocities and rapid changes in the wind direction are common phenomena in the complex built environments. A possible way to improve the cost-efficiency of urban wind turbines is the application of flowenhancing structures on or near the turbines. For horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs), applying a diffuser has shown to have a beneficial impact on the power production, but it is still under development. For a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) it is expected that flow augmentation will also strongly increase the performance of the turbine, but very little research has been done in this field. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of a diffuser on the airflow through a VAWT. In order to investigate these effects, the turbine (with and without diffuser) is simulated using a 2-D unsteady free-wake potential-flow panel model. The local flow field, local angles of attack, shed vorticity, the shape and strength of the wake, and the rotor torque are investigated for both the case with and without the diffuser. The diffuser used in this research consists of two mirrored airfoil cross-sections. The size of the duct-opening in which the turbine operates is varied. This work shows that unlike for a 1-D actuator disc analysis, the area ratio B of the diffuser exit with respect to the diffuser nozzle area is not the only driving factor in the augmentation of the rotor torque of the VAWT. More important are the effect of the directional change of the rotor inflow and the faster downstream transport of the shed vorticity.Aerodynamics, Wind Energy & PropulsionAerospace Engineerin