Analysis of a micro vertical-axis wind turbine by computational fluids simulation

The installed capacity of wind energy around the world using big horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT) has grown substantially in the last two decades. Likewise, research and development of vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) for small power applications has been increased during the last seven years. This paper presents the performance analysis related to the power output of a micro VAWT with three blades in helicoidal form, based on computational fluids dynamics simulation (CFD), using Ansys Fluent®. In the analysis, several parameters related to the aerodynamic performance were varied, keeping constant the sweeping area. To compare results, a mathematical model was created in Matlab®, using the double-multiple streamtube method (DMST), which considers variations in relative wind speed through the wind turbine. Results from both, CFD simulation and DMST model, applied to the micro turbine are presented.