Effects of the- Rotor -C-onfiguration and the -Airfoil Shape on the Darrieus Wind Turbine Performance

Abstract

This paper numerically investigates the effects of the rotor configuration and the airfoil shape on the performance of the Darrieus wind turbine for urban applications. A three-dimensional numerical model was developed to evaluate such effects. A square rotor configuration with the NACA0021 airfoil section was set as a baseline. Modification were made to increase the rotor diameter and the rotor height, respectively. It was found that the rotor configuration has a significant impact on the overall performance of the turbine. For the NACA0021 case, the increase of the rotor diameter increases the peak power output and shifts the turbine to operate at a higher tip speed ratio. Nevertheless, the increase of the rotor height does not lead to an increase of the peak power output but will increase the operating tip speed ratio of the turbine. For the configurations investigated, the employment of the S1046 airfoil can greatly improve the overall performance of the rotor with high height-to-diameter ratio.