Computational Studies on the Flow Field of Various Shapes-Bladed Vertical Axis Savonius Turbine in Static Condition

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) is the least efficient conventional wind energy generator. But the inherent advantage of facing the wind direction and capability to operate in low wind speed and non-smooth wind flow regions are two main reasons to research on it and to find more efficient design. The simplest form of VAWT is known as Savonius turbine and difference of the drag force on its blades is the operating principal. The main objective of this study is to analyze the performance data (numerically obtained) Savonius turbine blades. This study is in preliminary stage; experiment will be performed in near future. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis has been used. Effect of changing the inlet velocity and mesh dependency is observed in this study. These models are simulated with CFD software ANSYS/FLUENT. Comparing previous models it has been found that, airfoil shaped three bladed rotor produces better result than regular semi-circular wind turbines. Changing the airfoil shape may show more interesting result in future.