A review on the performance of Savonius wind turbines

This paper presents a review on the performance of Savonius wind turbines. This type of turbine is unusual and its application for obtaining useful energy from air stream is an alternative to the use of conventional wind turbines. Simple construction, high start up and full operation moment, wind acceptance from any direction, low noise and angular velocity in operation, reducing wear on moving parts, are some advantages of using this type of machine. Over the years, numerous adaptations for this device were proposed. The variety of possible configurations of the rotor is another advantage in using such machine. Each different arrangement of Savonius rotor affects its performance. Savonius rotor performance is affected by operational conditions, geometric and air flow parameters. The range of reported values for maximum averaged power coefficient includes values around 0.05–0.30 for most settings. Performance gains of up to 50% for tip speed ratio of maximum averaged power coefficient are also reported with the use of stators. Present article aims to gather relevant information about Savonius turbines, bringing a discussion about their performance. It is intended to provide useful knowledge for future studies.     

Development of low-noise drag-type vertical wind turbines

In this study, the aerodynamic noise characteristics of Savonius wind turbines were investigated using hybrid computational aero-acoustics techniques, and low-noise designs were proposed based on the understanding of the noise generation mechanism. First, the flow field around the turbine was analyzed in detail by solving three-dimensional unsteady incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations using computational fluid dynamics techniques. Then, the aerodynamic noise radiating from the wind turbine was predicted using the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings equation with the obtained flow field information. Two distinct harmonic noise components—the blade passing frequency (BPF) and harmonics with a fundamental frequency that is much higher than the BPF—were identified in the predicted noise spectrum. The origin of the higher harmonic components was found to be related to vortex shedding from the rotating turbine. Based on this finding, the proposed low-noise design for Savonius wind turbines uses S-shaped blades. S-shaped blades were found to reduce the noise levels of Savonius wind turbines by up to 2.7 dB.     

Innovative improvement of a drag wind turbine performance

Drag type wind turbines have strong potential in small and medium power applications due to their simple design. However, a major disadvantage of this design is the noticeable low conversion efficiency. Therefore, more research is required to improve the efficiency of this design. The present work introduces a novel design of a three-rotor Savonius turbine with rotors arranged in a triangular pattern. The performance of the new design is assessed by computational modeling of the flow around the three rotors. The 2D computational model is firstly applied to investigate the performance of a single rotor design to validate the model by comparison with experimental measurements. The model introduced an acceptable accuracy compared to the experimental measurements. The performance of the new design is then investigated using the same model. The results indicated that the new design performance has higher power coefficient compared with single rotor design. The peak power coefficient of the three rotor turbine is 44% higher than that of the single rotor design (relative increase). The improved performance is attributed to the favorable interaction between the rotors which accelerates the flow approaching the downstream rotors and generates higher turning moment in the direction of rotation of each rotor.     

重叠比对三叶片Savonius风力机启动性能影响研究

为获得相对平稳且非负的启动力矩,针对三叶片Savonius风力机开展研究。首先对比研究两叶片和三叶片Savonius风力机的启动性能和输出功率特性。在此基础上,针对其主要的结构参数重叠比开展研究。针对三叶片的结构特点,提出重叠比和净重叠比的定义方式,设置9组不同净重叠比,范围在0～0.36（重叠比范围0.14～0.50）之间。利用数值模拟和风洞试验相结合的方法,研究在不同风速下重叠比对Savonius风力机启动力矩以及输出功率性能的影响。结果表明：净重叠比可消除反向启动力矩,并提升三叶片Savonius风力机的启动性能,平均启动力矩系数最高提升147.06%。净重叠比在0.06～0.11范围内时,对风力机的输出功率有提高作用。     

Unsteady Aerodynamics of a Savonius wind rotor: a new computational approach for the simulation of energy performance

When compared with of other wind turbine the Savonius wind rotor offers lower performance in terms of power coefficient, on the other hand it offers a number of advantages as it is extremely simple to built, it is self-starting and it has no need to be oriented in the wind direction. Although it is well suited to be integrated in urban environment as mini or micro wind turbine it is inappropriate when high power is requested. For this reason several studies have been carried-out in recent years in order to improve its aerodynamic performance. The aim of this research is to gain an insight into the complex flow field developing around a Savonius wind rotor and to evaluate its performance. A mathematical model of the interaction between the flow field and the rotor blades was developed and validated by comparing its results with data obtained at Environmental Wind Tunnel (EWT) laboratory of the “Polytechnic University of Marche”.     

Optimization of Savonius turbines using an obstacle shielding the returning blade

Due to the worldwide energy crisis, research and development activities in the field of renewable energy have been considerably increased in many countries. In Germany, wind energy is becoming particularly important. Although considerable progress has already been achieved, the available technical design is not yet adequate to develop reliable wind energy converters for conditions corresponding to low wind speeds and urban areas. The Savonius turbine appears to be particularly promising for such conditions, but suffers from a poor efficiency. The present study considers a considerably improved design in order to increase the output power of a Savonius turbine with either two or three blades. In addition, the improved design leads to a better self-starting capability. To achieve these objectives, the position of an obstacle shielding the returning blade of the Savonius turbine and possibly leading to a better flow orientation toward the advancing blade is optimized. This automatic optimization is carried out by coupling an in-house optimization library (OPAL) with an industrial flow simulation code (ANSYS-Fluent). The optimization process takes into account the output power coefficient as target function, considers the position and the angle of the shield as optimization parameters, and relies on Evolutionary Algorithms. A considerable improvement of the performance of Savonius turbines can be obtained in this manner, in particular a relative increase of the power output coefficient by more than 27%. It is furthermore demonstrated that the optimized configuration involving a two-blade rotor is better than the three-blade design.     

Numerical investigation of airflow through a Savonius rotor

The aim of this report is to present a model of a rigid‐rotor system based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which is applied on a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) research. Its originality results from the use of the average value of the variable rotational speed method taken in a periodic steady‐state (PSS) of the VAWT rotor instead of the classical fixed rotational speed method. This approach was chosen in order to determine the mechanical and aerodynamic parameters of the wind turbine. The modeling method uses an implicit Euler iterative solution strategy, which resolves the coupling between fixed and moving rotor domains. The main methods that were adopted are based on the three‐dimensional modeling of the interaction of the fluid flow with a rigid‐rotor. The strategy consists of using the Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) equations with the standard k‐ ? and SST k‐ ω models to solve the fluid flow problem. To perform the rigid‐rotor motion in a fluid, the one degree of freedom (1‐DOF) method was applied. In the present study, the steady‐state and dynamic CFD simulations of the Savonius rotor are adopted to contribute to the validation elements of the VAWT models that are used. The dynamic study allows the investigation of the rotor behavior and the relation between velocity, pressure, and vorticity fields in and around the rotor blades. The flow fields generated by the rotation of the Savonius rotor were investigated in the half revolution period of the rotor angle θ from 0° to 180°. In this range of θ, the focus is on generating and dissipating vortices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of overlap ratio and aspect ratio on the performance of Savonius hydrokinetic turbine

A strong contender for the utilization of the hydropower sources is Savonius turbine because of its good starting characteristics and simplicity in fabrication. The aim of the present work is to study the effect of overlap ratio and aspect ratio on the performance of a Savonius turbine for hydrodynamic application. The findings would be useful to decide design parameters of a Savonius hydrokinetic turbine. This study is conducted in three open channels namely small laboratory channel with depth of water 270 mm, large laboratory channel with depth of water 480 mm and a real life irrigation canal with depth of water 900 mm. Influence of endplates is studied to establish the significance of their presence on rotor performance. Maximum coefficient of power is observed for an overlap ratio of around 0.11 for Savonius turbines with aspect ratio less than 0.6. For a given overlap ratio, the increasing trend of the coefficient of power is observed with the increase in the aspect ratio. However, for aspect ratios greater than 1.8, the coefficient of power becomes nearly stagnant. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An experimental investigation of a class of resistance-type,direction-independent wind turbines

The resistance-type, direction-independent wind turbine is suitable for the generation of power on a small scale in developing countries. So far, all work on this class of wind turbine seems to be restricted to the Savonius rotor. The present paper reports the findings of an experimental investigation of an entire class of wind turbines which includes the conventional Savonius rotor. The influence of four rotor-geometry parameters (i.e. number of blades, blade angle, blade location and angle of setting of the blade) is studied and discussed on the basis of two performance criteria (i.e. turbine efficiency and performance on the basis of blade area). The existence of optimum, design parameters is established and the possibility of improving substantially on the performance of the Savonius rotor is demonstrated. Some possible applications of the present class of turbines are briefly commented on.     

水平轴潮流水轮机转轮尾流特性数值分析

针对潮流水轮机转轮尾流对机组之间水力性能的干扰问题,利用CFD分析软件Fluent对单个水平轴潮流水轮机转轮模型和10倍转轮直径间距下的两台机组模型在额定流速条件下进行三维流场的数值模拟。结果表明,在水轮机转轮旋转平面内不同半径位置处的尾流流速恢复情况明显不同,离旋转轴线越远,尾流流速恢复越快,其流速亏损也越少;当水轮机组之间串列布置,且来流方向与旋转平面垂直情况下,下游机组运行受上游机组转轮的尾流影响较大,应尽量避免该布置方式。     

小型Savonius风机的创新设计与仿真分析

Savonius风机是一种典型的垂直轴风力机。针对传统风机的发电机部分采用转子、定子一动一静的设计布局,提出了一种新型的发电机结构,从而提高风机发电效率。通过有限元分析软件ANSYS／CFX,对风力机模型进行流体分析,计算Savonius风力机的效率,验证本设计分析方法的正确性。     

Performance assessment of a small wind turbine with crossflow runner by numerical simulations

Most of the classical wind turbines are not able to start at wind speeds as low as 2–3 m/s. Other turbines, like Savonius, have a low maximum efficiency, which renders them useless in poor wind conditions. Therefore, new turbine designs are required to harvest wind power even when the wind speed is low. A wind turbine having a crossflow runner, similar to the Banki water turbine, is studied numerically in this work in order to estimate its performance. The results obtained suggest that this turbine has a considerable high starting torque and its maximum power coefficient is comparable to those of horizontal axis wind turbines. Based on the results obtained, some improvements of the design are proposed in order to further increase turbine performance.     

Influence of setting condition on characteristics of Savonius hydraulic turbine with a shield plate

The aim of this investigation was to improve power performance of Savonius hydraulic turbine utilizing small stream for electric generation.An attempt was made to increase the power coefficient of runner by the use of flat shield plate placed upstream of the runner.The difference of the power coefficient is discussed in relation to clearance between the runner and the bottom wall and the rotation direction of the runner.The flow field around the runner was also examined visually to clarify influences of set...     

PIV measurements of flows around the wind turbines with a flanged-diffuser shroud

The wind turbines with a flanged-diffuser shroud -so called ＂wind lens turbine＂- are developed as one of high performance wind turbines by Ohya et al. In order to investigate the flow characteristics and flow acceleration, the paper presents the flow velocity measurements of a long-type and a compact-type wind turbines with a flanged-diffuser shroud by particle image velocimetry. In the case of the long type wind turbine, the velocity vec- tors of the inner flow field of the diffuser for turbine blades rotating and no blades rotating are presented at Rey- nolds number, 0.9x105. Fur~thermore the flow fields between with and without rotating are compared. Through the PIV measurement results, one can realize that the turbine blades rotating affects as suppress the disturbance and the flow separation near the inner wall of the diffuser. The time average velocity vectors are made on the av- erage of the instantaneous velocity data. There are two large vortices in downstream region of the diffuser. One vortex behind the flange acts as suck in wind to the diffuser and raise the inlet flow velocity. Another large vortex appears in downstream. It might be act as blockage vortex of main flow. The large blockage vortex is not clear in the instantaneous velocity vectors, however it exists clearly in the time average flow field. The flow field around the wind turbine with a compact-type flanged-diffuser shroud is also investigated. The flow pattern behind the flange of the compact-type turbine is the same as the long-type one. It means that the effect of flow acceleration is caused by the unsteady vortices behind the flange. The comparison with CFD and PIV results of meridional time-average streamlines after the compact-type diffuser is also presented.     

考虑叶片旋转及土-结构相互作用对风电结构动力特性影响的研究

风力发电建设场地土特性及叶片转速变化会引起风力发电机动力特性及响应发生变化。基于西北地区某风电场的2 MW三桨叶水平轴风力发电机,利用ANSYS软件建立风力发电机整机模型,考虑叶片旋转及土-结构相互作用对风力发电机动力特性的影响,研究风力发电机在不同叶片转速、不同场地条件及两者共同作用下的动力特性变化规律,并利用坎贝尔图分析上述工况下风力发电机的共振特性。结果表明:叶片转速增加使风力发电机的自振频率逐渐增大,塔筒与叶片的耦合变形使频率增长加快;考虑土-结构相互作用时,风力发电机频率降低,且场地土越软风力发电机频率越小;当两种工况共同作用时,叶片旋转只对一阶频率产生影响,对高阶频率影响甚微,且风力发电机频率降低;考虑叶片旋转时风力发电机在1P转频内不产生共振点,在3P转频内一阶频率的共振点为14 r/min。此外在不同场地土下风力发电机均会产生共振点,其中Ⅲ类土的共振频率最远离额定转频。因此在风电场的场地选择、结构设计及日常运行时应注意其动力特性变化,使其频率远离共振区域,为风力发电机安全运行提供保障。     

A review on technology,configurations, and performance of cross‐flow hydrokinetic turbines

Increased demand of energy leads to exploration of new sources of energy. In the last few years, hydrokinetic energy technology emerged as an important area in the field of renewable energy generation. Various hydrokinetic turbines have been studied and used to harness the hydrokinetic potential. Among all hydrokinetic turbine technology, cross‐flow hydrokinetic turbine is considered as the most suitable approach for the riverine system. There are various configurations of cross‐flow hydrokinetic turbine exist for hydrokinetic energy extraction. A number of numerical and experimental studies were carried out on the performance enhancement and design optimization of different configurations under variable operating conditions. Under the present paper, review of different rotor for the configurations of the cross‐flow hydrokinetic turbines are discussed. The paper will be useful to understand the cross‐flow hydrokinetic technology in order to explore the methods for selection, performance enhancement, and design optimization of cross‐flow hydrokinetic turbines.     

Wind turbine boundary layer arrays for Cartesian and staggered configurations‐Part I,flow field and power measurements

Model wind turbine arrays were developed for the purpose of investigating the wake interaction and turbine canopy layer in a standard cartesian and row‐offset turbine array configurations. Stereographic particle image velocimetry was used to collect flow data upstream and downstream of entrance and exit row turbines in each configuration. Wakes for all cases were analyzed for energy content and recovery behavior including entrainment of high‐momentum flow from above the turbine canopy layer. The row‐offset arrangement of turbines within an array grants an increase in streamwise spacing of devices and allows for greater wake remediation between successive rows. These effects are seen in exit row turbine wakes as changes to statistical quantities including the in‐plane Reynolds stress, , and the production of turbulence. The recovery of wakes also strongly mitigates the perceived underperformance of wind turbines within an array. The flux of kinetic energy is demonstrated to be more localized in the entrance rows and in the offset arrangement. Extreme values for the flux of kinetic energy are about 7.5% less in the exit row of the cartesian arrangement than in the offset arrangement. Measurements of mechanical torque at entrance and exit row turbines lead to curves of power coefficient and demonstrate an increase in efficiency in row‐offset configurations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of wind turbine wake interaction using the vorticity transport model

The aerodynamic interactions that can occur within a wind farm can result in the constituent turbines generating a lower power output than would be possible if each of the turbines were operated in isolation. Tightening of the constraints on the siting of wind farms is likely to increase the scale of the problem in the future. The aerodynamic performance of turbine rotors and the mechanisms that couple the fluid dynamics of multiple rotors can be most readily understood by simplifying the problem and considering the interaction between only two rotors. The aerodynamic interaction between two rotors in both co‐axial and offset configurations has been simulated using the Vorticity Transport Model. The aerodynamic interaction is a function of the tip speed ratio, and both the streamwise and crosswind separation between the rotors. The simulations show that the momentum deficit at a turbine operating within the wake developed by the rotor of a second turbine is governed by the development of instabilities within the wake of the upwind rotor, and the ensuing structure of the wake as it impinges on the downwind rotor. If the wind farm configuration or wind conditions are such that a turbine rotor is subject to partial impingement by the wake produced by an upstream turbine, then significant unsteadiness in the aerodynamic loading on the rotor blades of the downwind turbine can result, and this unsteadiness can have considerable implications for the fatigue life of the blade structure and rotor hub. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy and exergy efficiency comparison of horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines

In this paper, an energy and exergy analysis is performed on four different wind power systems, including both horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines. Significant variability in turbine designs and operating parameters are encompassed through the selection of systems. In particular, two airfoils (NACA 63(2)-215 and FX 63-137) commonly used in horizontal axis wind turbines are compared with two vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). A Savonius design and Zephyr VAWT benefit from operational attributes in wind conditions that are unsuitable for airfoil type designs. This paper analyzes each system with respect to both the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The aerodynamic performance of each system is numerically analyzed by computational fluid dynamics software, FLUENT. A difference in first and second law efficiencies of between 50 and 53% is predicted for the airfoil systems, whereas 44–55% differences are predicted for the VAWT systems. Key design variables are analyzed and the predicted results are discussed. The exergetic efficiency of each wind turbine is studied for different geometries, design parameters and operating conditions. It is shown that the second law provides unique insight beyond a first law analysis, thereby providing a useful design tool for wind power development.     

Hydrokinetic turbine array characteristics for river applications and spatially restricted flows

Multiple hydrokinetic turbines in three array configurations were characterized computationally by employing Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The simulations were conducted for pre-existing turbines operating at their optimum power coefficient of 0.43 which was obtained by design and optimization process. Mechanical power for two adjacent units was predicted for various lateral separation distances. An additional two-by-two turbine array was studied, mimicking a hydro-farm. Numerical simulations were performed using actual physical turbines in the field rather than using low fidelity models such as actuator disk theory. Steady state simulations were conducted using both Coupled and SIMPLE pressure-velocity solvers. Steady three dimensional flow structures were calculated using the k-ω Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model. At a lateral separation distance of 0.5D_t, the turbines produced an average 86% of the peak power a single turbine producing. Interaction effects at lateral separation distances greater than 2.5D_t were negligible. The wake interaction behind the upstream turbines causes a significant performance reduction for downstream turbines within 6D_t longitudinal spacing. Downstream turbines employed for the present study performed around 20% or less of a single unit turbine performance for the same operating conditions. Downstream turbines yielded comparable reductions in power to that of experimental results.