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Optimization Of The Vertical Axis Wind Turbine For Localization In Low Wind Speed Areas
Abstract
The vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have proved to show how they are well suited for the urban landscape in production of renewable energy. Thus, the major objective of this study was to develop an optimal model for the vertical axis wind turbine using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). VAWT blades are designed in such a way that they exhibit good aerodynamic performance throughout an entire rotation at various angles of attack they experience leading to optimal performance. In this study, an average unsteady wind flow speed of 10 ms-1 was considered to flow towards the VAWT at angles of attack ranging from 0ͦo to 18o. The NACA0012 airfoil blade was used to study the aerodynamic factors on the VAWT and optimize its performance using the CFD software ANSYS Fluent 7.2. A CFD analysis method was used to evaluate both unsteady wind inflow performance and the flow hydraulics that affects the performance of a VAWT. Mathematical model formulations and numerical simulations using Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) are employed. The k-ω turbulence model was found
to perform well for unsteady wind flow simulations for optimal performance of the VAWT. The numerical simulations of velocity and pressure contours at different angles of attack were analysed in consideration of the lift and drag forces. The NACA0012 airfoil blade was found to perform optimally at angles of attack in the range 0o 16o.
Keywords: Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Model Equations, angle of attack.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.52155/ijpsat.v38.1.5271
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