Numerical simulation of a Savonius turbine above an infinite-width forward facing step

摘要

The Savonius turbine, although simple in construction, typically has a maximum power coefficient (c_P) of about 0.2. This is significantly lower than the c_P of the axial flow propeller-type turbine which typically can be as high as 0.5. However, a simple means to improve the c_P of a Savonius turbine is to install it above a forward facing step, for example, a cliff or a building. In this work, prior experimental results of the tow testing of a Savonius turbine installed above a finite-width bluff body were used to validate computational fluid dynamics simulation of the same experimental conditions. The validated simulation settings were then used to obtain the maximum c_P of a similar turbine of finite width but installed above an infinite-width forward facing step over a range of installation positions above and behind the step.