Effect of Some Design Parameters on Performance of a Shutter Type Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Renewable energy generation in the rural environment has been receiving an increased attention over the recent years due to the proximity with the point of use. This paper presents the effect of design parameters on the performance of a Shutter Type Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (STVAWT). A STVAWT has been designed, manufactured and tested. The turbine performance has been investigated by varying the design parameters such as shutter angle and form of the shutter. The results were used for the comparison between the performance achieved while changing the design parameters. Significant numbers of experiments have been performed by changing the above mentioned parameters for different wind speeds. The effect of each parameter on the torque and power has been analyzed. It has been found that the shutter angle has a significant effect on the power of the turbine. The maximum power obtained in this investigation was 103 watts using a turbine with radius 150 cm, height 45 cm, shutter angle 30 degree and curved shutter form. The torque and power increases with increase in shutter angle up to 30 degree starting from 12 degree and then decreases with increase in shutter opening angle up to 48 degree. From this investigation, it is clear that the newly developed STVAWT is working efficiently at 30 degree shutter opening angle and the curved shutter form is found to be more efficient as compared to the straight shutter form.