Numerical Study on Performance of Savonius-Type Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine, with and Without Omnidirectional Guide Vane

摘要

Savonius-type vertical-axis wind turbine is a suitable candidate for decentralized power generation in urban locations, due to its self-starting nature, large starting torque and ability to accept wind from any direction. In the present work, 2D, transient CFD analysis was performed on an S-shaped Savonius vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) using ANSYS Fluent 15.0, and the results thus obtained are validated by comparing with the experimental result published in the literature. Numerical study on the effect of omnidirectional guide vane (ODGV) on power- and torque coefficients of S-shaped Savonius VAWT is carried out. The results showed that the presence of ODGV increases power and torque, thus the performance of VAWT is increased in the presence of ODGV. Further, the computations are systematically extended to study the effect of ODGV in the range of 0.45-0.8 tip-speed ratio (λ). Optimal performance of the VAWT is noted at a tip-speed ratio of 0.6.