The 6th International Congress Design and Modelling of Mechanical Systems CMSM’2015

Parametric Study of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

MOEZ BEN JABER a,b, MOHAMED FAHMI ARFAOUI a

a
Laboratoire de Systèmes et de Mécanique Appliquée (LASMAP), Ecole Polytechnique de Tunisie
(EPT), Université de Carthage, La Marsa, Tunisie. moez.jaber@enit.rnu.tn
b
Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Tunis, Université d’El-Manar, Tunis, Tunisie

Abstract – In this work, the effect of a number of design parameters on the performances of a
Darrieus type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is studied. A CFD model of the turbine is built using
the commercial software "Ansys-Fluent". The geometry of the VAWT and the imposed boundary
conditions are introduced in a completely parameterized way. The air flow around the turbine is
considered viscous, unsteady, turbulent and incompressible. The k- turbulence model is adopted for
the resolution of the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The comparison of simulation
results with experimental data taken from the literature shows a good agreement between them.

Keywords: vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), CFD model, parametric study, Darrieus type.

1 Introduction blades whose cross section is in the shape of a

The Darrieus-type VAWT is distinguished by its
simplicity, relatively low manufacturing cost and
the ability to install it everywhere. It also has the
feature to function regardless the wind direction.
All these advantages have led many researchers
[1,2] to study this type of wind turbine in order of
mastering its operating principle and analyze the
influence of different design parameters on its
performance. The three major models used for the
prediction of VAWT performance include
momentum models, vortex model, and
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) [3]. CFD is a
tool that is increasingly used in the field of fluid
flow analysis for the analytical capacity that is able
to supply and its relatively low cost in comparison
the experimental tests on real models.
In the present work, we aim to use this tool for the
implementation of a numerical model of a vertical
axis wind turbine (VAWT). Because the blade
geometry is perfectly straight in the vertical
direction, a 2D model of the VAWT is considered
and consequently the edge effect is neglected. This
model is performed using the commercial software
"ANSYS-Fluent" which is based on the finite
volume method widely used in the field of
computational fluid dynamics.
2 Methods
The Darrieus type vertical axis wind turbine,
subject of this study, consists of a four straight
NACA four-digit profile.
The model of the VAWT built in this work is
distinguished by the fact that it is completely
parameterized, ie all of the model properties,
including geometry, mesh and boundary conditions,
are all dependent on a finite number of parameters
listed in Table 1 below. This allows us, thereafter,
to carry out a shape optimization of the wind
turbine blades, by using a one of the different
optimization algorithms offered by "ANSYS."
The computational domain occupied by the air is
considered rectangular with large dimensions
compared with the diameter of the turbine (higher
than 4 times the diameter) so that we can consider
that the speed of the air on the edges is not affected
by the turbine rotation. A circle encompassing the
wind turbine partitions the computational domain
into two zones so that we can create a rotating mesh
on the inside zone to follow the rotation of the
blades.
A finer mesh is considered for the inside area of the
circle and a much finer one is placed around the
profiles of blades to consider the boundary layer
effect. Figure 1 presents the geometry and mesh of
the VAWT CFD model.
No slip is considered between the air and the blades
surfaces (viscous flow). On the input edge and on
both lateral side edges of the computational
domain, the velocity is assumed to be equal to the
wind velocity V. On the outlet edge, the pressure
is made equal to atmospheric pressure.

Hammamet, 23-25 March 2015, Tunisia 1

The 6th International Congress Design and Modelling of Mechanical Systems CMSM’2015
The air flow around the wind turbine is considered type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). A
unsteady, incompressible and viscous. The completely parameterized CFD model is conducted
assumption of incompressibility is valid since the by using the commercial softwere "Ansys-Fluent".
speed of the air flow is relatively low (less than 0.3 The comparison of simulation results with
Mach). In addition, it is considered that the flow is experimental data taken from the literature shows
turbulent (Re≈0.25 105 [4]) and the k- turbulence good agreement between them.
model is adopted for the resolution of the Reynolds
Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations.
Table 1. Design parameters of the VAWT
Parameter Description
C Chord length
m Maximum camber in% of chord
length
p Position of the maximum camber
in % of chord length
e Maximum thickness of the blade in
% of chord length
n Number of blades
 Pitch angle
R Turbine radius Figure 2. Pitch angle influence on the power
h Height of the blades coefficient of the VAWT
V Wind velocity
 Rotational speed

Figure 3. Changes in the distribution of pressure

Figure 1. Geometry and mesh of the VAWT CFD
model.
3 Results
Several simulations have been considered in which
is determined the influence of changes of certain
design parameters of the wind turbine on its
performances as its torque coefficient Ct and its
power coefficient Cp. To validate the model,
simulation results are compared with experimental
data recently published by El-Samanoudy et al. [5]
(figure 2). Figure 3 illustrates the evolution of the
pressur distribution during the rotation of the
turbine.
4 Conclusion
In this work, we studied the effect of a number of
design parameters on the performance of a Darrieus
around the turbine blades during rotation
5 References
[1] M. A. Biadgo, A. Simonović, D. Komarov & S.
Stupar, Numerical and analytical investigation of
vertical axis wind turbine. FME Transactions,41(1)
(2013), 49-58.
[2] Y. LEE, Wind turbine simulation for time-
dependent angular velocity, torque, and power.
International Journal of Engineering Science &
Technology, 5(2) (2013).
[3] M. Islam, D.K.Ting and A. Fartaj,
Aerodynamic models for Darrieus-type straight-
bladed vertical axis wind turbines, Renew and
Sustain Energy Reviews, 12, 4 (2008) 1087-1109.
[4] P. Sabaeifard, H. Razzaghi & A. Forouzandeh,
Determination of vertical axis wind turbines
optimal configuration through CFD simulations,
International Conference on Future Environment
and Energy IPCBEE (volume 28) IACSIT Press,
Singapoore 2012.
[5] M. El-Samanoudy, A. A. E. Ghorab & S. Z.
Youssef, Effect of some design parameters on the
performance of a Giromill vertical axis wind
turbine. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 1,
1(2010), 85-95.

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