Aerodynamic Studies of a Straight-Bladed Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine

摘要

A straight bladed vertical axis wind turbine has been constructed at Napier College. The turbine has a diameter of 3 m and vertical blades 2 m in length. The installation has been constructed as a test bed in order to test various blade configurations. A theoretical study, using the Musgrove type of analysis, has been completed on a design which incorporates a number of horizontal streamlined cross-arms connected to vertical blades. The analysis has included the drag of the cross-arms, the effect of operation at low Reynolds Number and the effect of induced drag. The resulting design of turbine is simple, robust and capable of operating with high efficiency at high wind velocities. A relatively high annual energy output is obtainable with a load characteristic giving torque proportional to the square of the rotational speed. The test installation will be used to determine the characteristics of various turbine configurations and results will subsequently be compared with theoretical predictions.