An experimental and numerical study on the improvement of the performance of Savonius wind rotor

In the present study, a curtain has been designed to increase the low performance of the Savonius wind rotor, a type of vertical-axis wind rotor, and the effect of this curtain on the static rotor performance has been analyzed both experimentally and numerically. Designed to prevent the torque that occurs on the convex blade of the rotor in the negative direction, this curtain has been placed in front of the rotor. Experimental measurements and numerical analysis have been conducted when the Savonius wind rotor is with and without curtain. The static torque values of the rotor have been measured by experiments and calculated by numerical analysis, and finally they have been compared. The best results have been obtained by means of the rotor with curtain. Low static torque values have been obtained with the short curtain dimensions, while a considerable increase has been acquired in the static torque values with the long curtain dimensions. Fluent 6.0 trade software has been used as the numerical method. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.