CFD and Control Analysis of a Smart Hybrid Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Wind energy has become a dominant source of renewable energy during the past decade. Current hybrid wind turbines are primarily designed and manufactured based on a combination of aerodynamic properties for both Darrieus and Savonius turbines. In this work, the aerodynamic performance characteristics of a smart vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with an electro-magnetic switch mechanism for dis-/engagement mechanism is studied analytically and numerically. The proposed novel VAWT offers a high start-up torque by a Savonius turbine and high power coefficient values by a Darrieus turbine. The switch mechanism can further improve the system efficiency by running the turbines together or independently. The proposed hybrid VAWT was modeled as a combined Savonius-type Bach turbine and a 3-bladed H-Darrieus turbine. The hybrid turbine has a self-startup feature and reaches a coefficient of power (C_p) of over 40%. The turbine is also estimated to cover a wide operational range up to TSR 6. The follow on research phases of the project include studying the proposed smart VAWT experimentally and validating the results with those obtained through computational analysis.