Publication

Abstract : Wind energy being one of the renewable energy sources, having potential to substitute power generation from fossil fuels, has always drawn the spot light of research society. Non-straight bladed vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) has proven to be one among the better options among small scale turbines. The presented work investigates the effect of wind speed on the performance of a Troposkien blade VAWT using 3D CFD simulations. The transitional SST K-w model is used for modeling turbulence. Simulations are conducted for varying wind velocities (6 m/s - 14 m/s) and varying tip speed ratios (TSR) (1.6 - 2.1). Based on the swept area of the turbine, the mean radius of the turbine is calculated which serves as the basis for the calculation of TSR. The results obtained indicate that the turbine performance is significantly affected at lower TSR at varying wind speeds, and the percentage of change is much lower at higher TSR values. Peak performance of the turbine is noted at the same TSR value for all wind velocities, and the magnitude of coefficient of performance is found to be almost the same.