Coupled Time-Domain Investigation on a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Supported on a Floating Platform

The dynamic responses of a floating vertical axis wind turbine(VAWT)are assessed on the basis of an aero-hydro-mooring coupled model.The aerodynamic loads on the rotor are acquired with double-multiple stream tube method.First-and second-order wave loads are calculated on the basis of 3D potential theory.The mooring loads are simulated by catenary theory.The coupled model is established,and a numerical code is programmed to investigate the dynamic response of the semi-submersible VAWT.A model test is then conducted,and the numerical code is validated considering the hydrodynamic performance of the floating buoy.The responses of the floating VAWT are studied through the numerical simulation under the sea states of wind and regular/irregular waves.The effects of the second-order wave force on the motions are also investigated.Results show that the slow-drift responses in surge and pitch motions are significantly excited by the second-order wave forces.Furthermore,the effect of foundation motion on aerodynamic loads is examined.The normal and tangential forces of the blades demonstrate a slight increase due to the coupling effect between the buoy motion and the aerodynamic loads.

Studies on Performance of Distributed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine under Building Turbulence

As a part of the new energy development trend,distributed power generation may fully utilize a variety of decentralized energy sources.Buildings close to the installation location,besides,may have a considerable impact on the wind turbines’operation.Using a combined vertical axis wind turbine with an S-shaped lift outer blade and-shaped drag inner blade,this paper investigates how a novel type of upstream wall interacts with the incident wind at various speeds,the influence region of the turbulent vortex,and performance variation.The results demonstrate that the building’s turbulence affects the wind’s horizontal and vertical direction,as well as its speed,in downstreamplaces.The wall’s effect on wind speed changing in the downstreamarea is thoroughly investigated.It turns out that while choosing an installation location,disturbing flow areas or low disturbing flow zones should be avoided to have the least impact on wind turbine performance.

Vertical axis wind turbine with omni-directional-guide-vane for urban high-rise buildings

A novel shrouded wind-solar hybrid renewable energy and rain water harvester with an omni-directional-guide-vane(ODGV) for urban high-rise application is introduced.The ODGV surrounds the vertical axis wind turbine(VAWT) and enhances the VAWT performance by increasing the on-coming wind speed and guiding it to an optimum flow angle before it interacts with the rotor blades.An ODGV scaled model was built and tested in the laboratory.The experimental results show that the rotational speed of the VAWT increases by about 2 times.Simulations show that the installation of the ODGV increases the torque output of a single-bladed VAWT by 206% for tip speed ratio of 0.4.The result also reveals that higher positive torque can be achieved when the blade tangential force at all radial positions is optimized.In conclusion,the ODGV improves the power output of a VAWT and this integrated design promotes the installation of wind energy systems in urban areas.

Blade pitch control of straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine

Collective pitch control and individual pitch control algorithms were present for straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine to improve the self-starting capacity.Comparative analysis of straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine(SB-VAWT) with or without pitch control was conducted from the aspects of aerodynamic force,flow structure and power coefficient.The computational fluid dynamics(CFD) prediction results show a significant increase in power coefficient for SB-VAWT with pitch control.According to the aerodynamic forces and total torque coefficient obtained at various tip speed ratios(TSRs),the results indicate that the blade pitch method can increase the power output and decrease the deformation of blade;especially,the total torque coefficient of blade pitch control at TSR 1.5 is about 2.5 times larger than that of fixed pitch case.Furthermore,experiment was carried out to verify the feasibility of pitch control methods.The results show that the present collective pitch control and individual pitch control methods can improve the self-starting capacity of SB-VAWT,and the former is much better and its proper operating TSRs ranges from 0.4 to 0.6.

Effect of blade pitch angle on aerodynamic performance of straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine

Wind energy is one of the most promising renewable energy sources, straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine(S-VAWT) appears to be particularly promising for the shortage of fossil fuel reserves owing to its distinct advantages, but suffers from poor self-starting and low power coefficient. Variable-pitch method was recognized as an attractive solution to performance improvement, thus majority efforts had been devoted into blade pitch angle effect on aerodynamic performance. Taken into account the local flow field of S-VAWT, mathematical model was built to analyze the relationship between power outputs and pitch angle. Numerical simulations on static and dynamic performances of blade were carried out and optimized pitch angle along the rotor were presented. Comparative analyses of fixed pitch and variable-pitch S-VAWT were conducted, and a considerable improvement of the performance was obtained by the optimized blade pitch angle, in particular, a relative increase of the power coefficient by more than 19.3%. It is further demonstrated that the self-starting is greatly improved with the optimized blade pitch angle.

Analysis of static structural mechanics of vertical axis wind turbine with lift-drag combined starting structures

The finite element analysis was carried out for a composite vertical axis wind turbine with lift-drag combined starting structures to ensure the structure safety of a vertical axis wind turbine(VAWT).The static and modal analysis of rotor of a composite vertical axis wind turbine was conducted by using ANSYS software.The relevant contour sketch of stress and deformation was obtained.The analysis was made for static structural mechanics,modal analysis of rotor and the total deformation and vibration profile to evaluate the influence on the working capability of the rotor.The analysis results show that the various structure parameters lie in the safety range of structural mechanics in the relative standards.The analysis showing the design safe to operate the rotor of a vertical axis wind turbine.The methods used in this study can be used as a good reference for the structural mechanics′analysis of VAWTs.

Roadside Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT): An Effective Evolutionary Design for Australian Highway Commuters with Minimum Dynamic Stall

There are multiple approaches of design for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) that have been studied by engineers and leaps have been made in high performing innovations. By harnessing the energy from these wind turbines, the problem of roadside lights shortage can be solved. This can help to prevent the accidents while providing clean energy. The importance of coastal areas like Australian beaches regarding wind turbines cannot be neglected as a higher number of people like to live near coastal vicinity. Also, most of the freeways in Australia expand across the sea. In this paper, one such design has been analyzed to implement across the highways. But still with many advancements in technology, an immense gap is present in the research of implementation of VAWTs. The design discussed in the current study is a VAWT which can be installed on the side of the highway roads to provide clean and cheap energy for illuminating the roads. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was conducted on the blades of the turbine to analyze its performance under operating conditions. Furthermore, the paper elaborates the generation of drag and lift on the blades of the turbine. A wind speed of 60 km/h just produced 6.1 N force on the turbine blades as a result of drag. The cost analysis showed the cheap production of such mechanism that can provide longer service when installed.

Optimized Design of H-Type Vertical Axis Wind Airfoil at Multiple Angles of Attack

Numerical simulations are conducted to improve the energy acquisition efficiency of H-type vertical axis wind turbines through the optimization of the related blade airfoil aerodynamic performance.The Bézier curve is initi-ally used tofit the curve profile of a NACA2412 airfoil,and the moving asymptote algorithm is then exploited to optimize the design of the considered H-type vertical-axis wind-turbine blade airfoil for a certain attack angle.The results show that the maximum lift coefficient of the optimized airfoil is 8.33%higher than that of the original airfoil.The maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the optimized airfoil exceeds the maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the ori-ginal airfoil by 11.22%.Moreover,the power coefficient is increased by 12.19%and the torque coefficient of the wind turbine is significantly improved.

A Straight-bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbine with a Directed Guide Vane Row-Effect of Guide Vane Geometry on the Performance-

The objective of this study is to show the effect of guide vane geometry on the performance. In order to overcome the disadvantages of vertical axis wind turbine, a straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine （S-VAWT） with a directed guide vane row has been proposed and tested by the authors. According to previous studies, it was clarified that the performance of the turbine can be improved by means of the directed guide vane row. However, the guide vane geometry of S-VAWT has not been optimized so far. In order to clarify the effect of guide vanegeometry, the effects of setting angle and gap between rotor blade and guide vane on power coefticlent and start- ing characteristic were investigated in the experiments. The experimental study of the proposed wind turbine was carried out by a wind tunnel. The wind tunnel with a diameter of 1.8m is open jet type. The wind velocity is 8 m/s in the experiments. The rotor has three straight blades with a profile of NACA0018 and a chord length of 100 mm, a diameter of 0.6 m and a blade height of 0.7 m. The guide vane row consists of 3 arc plates.

Numerical simulation of icing effects on static flow field around blade airfoil for vertical axis wind turbine

Icing on blade surface of the straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine(SB-VAWT)set in cold regions is a serious problem.To study the performance effects of icing on SB-VAWT,numerical simulations were carried out on the ice accretion on NACA 0015 airfoil which was always used for blade airfoil of SB-VAWT by CFD methods based on 2D steady incompressible N-S Equation.The morphology and procedure of icing on blade airfoil were obtained under different wind speeds,attack angles of blade and water flow flux in wind.The static flow fields,especially the static pressure fields around blade airfoil with or without icing on it were computed.The aerodynamic characteristics including the lift and drag force coefficients of blade airfoil were also calculated.The results indicated that icing caused the static pressure field changed greatly and led to the increasing of drag force and reducing the aerodynamic performance.

A Very Large Scale Wind Turbine

A very large scale wind turbine can be made as a circular large scale stator frame;the frame,which can reach some kilometers in diameter and some hundred meters in height,contains many circular sail trains.The stator frame can be made using a light-weight tubular design.Wind can almost freely blow through this frame.Train rails are fixed at the outer surface of the frame as horizontal rings.The distance between the rails of one ring can be made to be several meters.As a result,the number of the rings can be ten or more.Each rail ring supports one sail train that is moved with wind power around the frame.The energy of this movement is transformed to electric power and is transmitted to the base of the frame.This design can be realized in a very large scale,which is difficult to achieve using a traditional three-blade turbine.

Effect of wind fluctuating on self-starting aerodynamics characteristics of VAWT

The present work deals with an investigation of the self-starting aerodynamic characteristics of VAWT under fluctuating wind. In contrast to the previous studies, the rotational speed of the turbine is not fixed, the rotation of the turbine is determined by the dynamic interaction between the fluctuating wind and turbine. A weak coupling method is developed to simulate the dynamic interaction between the fluctuating wind and passive rotation turbine, and the results show that if the fluctuating wind with appropriate fluctuation amplitude and frequency, the self-starting aerodynamic characteristics of VAWT will be enhanced. It is also found that compared with the fluctuation amplitude, the fluctuation frequency of the variation in wind velocity is shown to have a minor effect on the performance of the turbine. The analysis will provide straightforward physical insight into the self-starting aerodynamic characteristics of VAWT under fluctuating wind.

Wind Tunnel Test and Numerical Computation on Ice Accretion on Blade Airfoil for Straight-bladed VAWT

To invest the condition of ice accretion on the blade used for straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine （SB-VAWT）, wind tunnel tests were carried out on a blade with NACA0015 airfoil by using a small simple icing wind tunnel. Tests were carried out at some typical attack angles under different wind speeds and flow discharges of a water spray with wind. The icing shape and area on blade surface were recorded and measured, Then the numerical computation was carded out to calculate the lift and drag coefficients of the blade before and after ice accretion according to the experiment result, the effect of icing on the aerodynamic characteristics of blade were discussed.

Improving Ambient Wind Environments of a Cross-flow Wind Turbine near a Structure by using an Inlet Guide Structure and a Flow Deflector

A cross-flow wind turbine near a structure was tested for the performance. The results showed that the performance of a cross-flow wind turbine near a structure was up to 30% higher than the one without a structure. In addition, we tried to get higher performance of a cross-flow wind turbine by using an Inlet Guide Structure and a Flow Deflector. An Inlet Guide Structure was placed on the edge of a structure and a Flow Deflector was set near a cross-flow wind turbine and can improve ambient wind environments of the wind turbine, the maximum power coefficients were about 15 to 40% higher and the tip speed ratio range showing the high power coefficient was wide and the positive gradients were steep apparently.

Breeze-activated wind speed sensor with ultra-low friction resistance for self-powered gale disaster warning

The early warning and monitoring of gale disasters are very important for the safety of people’s lives and properties. Triboelectric nanogenerators(TENGs) are popular for wind speed sensors due to their self-powered property. However, a TENG cannot easily work at low wind speeds due to the limitation of the high frictional resistance structure. In this paper, a TENG-based breezeactivated wind speed sensor(BAWS) with an ultra-low frictional resistance is proposed. The key drive unit of the BAWS is a Savonius-like vertical axis wind turbine, which is fabricated by arrayed airfoil profile blades with excellent flow field characteristics. Here a wind turbine plays dual roles in driving the electromagnetic generator below it to supply energy and lead the TENG above it to sense the wind force. Compared to a classical turbine with a wind cup, the designed turbine has a low resistance torque. The synergistic effect of the drive unit with low-resistance and triboelectric materials with low viscosity allows the BAWS to be activated even at a wind speed of 2.9 m/s. The sensitivities of the voltage frequency and current amplitude of the TENG are used to reflect the electrical property of the BAWS. The measured values are 0.291 Hz/(m·s-1) and 0.221 μA/(m·s-1),which reflects the good sensitivity of the BAWS. Moreover, the linearity of the BAWS reaches up to 0.991, which shows an accurate output for the wind speed. In addition, the device is equipped with a combined electromagnetic-solar unit as the sole power source to meet the sensor’s all-weather operation requirements. This work expands the application prospects of selfpowered sensing technology in the field of disaster warning.

Analysis and characterization of wind-solar-constant torque spring hybridized model

Solar and wind are the most promising renewable energy resources. But their unpredictable and varying nature prevents them from being used as the sole resource for power generation. This paper presents a model of wind and solar thermal hybrid power plant with a spring storage system which is expected to play an efficient role in combating with the drawbacks related to renewable power generation. In the proposed scheme, wind energy is harnessed by a hybrid vertical axis wind turbine, solar energy is utilized by a Stifling engine, and the surplus energy is stored in a winding spring. The paper discusses the working methodologies and analyses the performance of such 2.6 kW hybrid power plant model. It has been observed that the plant is capable of consistently generating 50% of its rated capacity irrespective of limitations in solar and wind resources.