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Turbulent Flow Characteristics and Dynamics Response of a Vertical-Axis Spiral Rotor

Author

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  • Can Kang

    (School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Xin Yang

    (School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Yuli Wang

    (Department of Mechanics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm SE-100 44, Sweden)

Abstract

The concept of a vertical-axis spiral wind rotor is proposed and implemented in the interest of adapting it to air flows from all directions and improving the rotor’s performance. A comparative study is performed between the proposed rotor and conventional Savonius rotor. Turbulent flow features near the rotor blades are simulated with Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model. The torque coefficient of the proposed rotor is satisfactory in terms of its magnitude and variation through the rotational cycle. Along the height of the rotor, distinct spatial turbulent flow patterns vary with the upstream air velocity. Subsequent experiments involving a disk generator gives an in-depth understanding of the dynamic response of the proposed rotor under different operation conditions. The optimal tip-speed ratio of the spiral rotor is 0.4–0.5, as is shown in both simulation and experiment. Under normal and relative-motion flow conditions, and within the range of upstream air velocity from 1 to 12 m/s, the output voltage of the generator was monitored and statistically analyzed. It was found that normal air velocity fluctuations lead to a non-synchronous correspondence between upstream air velocity and output voltage. In contrast, the spiral rotor’s performance when operating from the back of a moving truck was significantly different to its performance under the natural conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Can Kang & Xin Yang & Yuli Wang, 2013. "Turbulent Flow Characteristics and Dynamics Response of a Vertical-Axis Spiral Rotor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:6:y:2013:i:6:p:2741-2758:d:26103
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kamoji, M.A. & Kedare, S.B. & Prabhu, S.V., 2009. "Performance tests on helical Savonius rotors," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 521-529.
    2. Kamoji, M.A. & Kedare, S.B. & Prabhu, S.V., 2009. "Experimental investigations on single stage modified Savonius rotor," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(7-8), pages 1064-1073, July.
    3. Saha, U.K. & Rajkumar, M. Jaya, 2006. "On the performance analysis of Savonius rotor with twisted blades," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(11), pages 1776-1788.
    4. Zhou, Tong & Rempfer, Dietmar, 2013. "Numerical study of detailed flow field and performance of Savonius wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 373-381.
    5. Gupta, R. & Biswas, A. & Sharma, K.K., 2008. "Comparative study of a three-bucket Savonius rotor with a combined three-bucket Savonius–three-bladed Darrieus rotor," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1974-1981.
    6. Menet, J.-L., 2004. "A double-step Savonius rotor for local production of electricity: a design study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(11), pages 1843-1862.
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    Cited by:

    1. Can Kang & Wisdom Opare & Chen Pan & Ziwen Zou, 2018. "Upstream Flow Control for the Savonius Rotor under Various Operation Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, June.

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