A NEW VERTICAL AXIS WIND ROTOR USING CONVERGENT NOZZLES

摘要

There is very little in the literature dealing with vertical axis wind turbines using convergent nozzles. This work is one of the first on this vital area. We introduce a new concept of amplifying wind speed before it comes in contact with the blades of a newly designed rotor by using a convergent nozzle. Instead of using large central station power plants, these new rotors can be most conveniently built in smaller units appropriate for individual load requirements. The work is particularly significant given the current trend towards distributed or dispersed generation. We also attempt to analyze the optimum nozzle dimensions for a better performance of the system; and we conduct a research program involving wind tunnel tests of five different nozzle models. The length and the outlet area of the nozzle were changed periodically to see their effect on the increase of wind speed. The variation of the output speed with different values of input wind speed, different input areas of nozzle, and different lengths of nozzle placed at different distances from the wind tunnel is detailed. Results of additional study of a new rotor's performance characteristics using concentrating nozzles are also been outlined.