Comparative investigation of the aerodynamic performance for several Shrouded Archimedes Spiral Wind Turbines

Wind energy is one of the most rapidly developing renewable energy technologies. Conventional turbines, which are commercially available in some cities, are designed to run at relatively high speeds to be sufficiently effective but not in the urban areas. A new type of horizontal axis wind turbine, namely, Archimedes Spiral Wind Turbine (ASWT) is designed for urban usage. The aerodynamic performance of the ASWT was examined using numerical analysis. To improve the possibility of wind power use within the range of low speeds, a wind lens has been used to enhance the efficiency of the ASWT to enhance the flow characteristics through the rotor blades. The current analysis focuses on design the best configuration of wind-lens that shrouding the ASWT. The current work investigates the wind-lens' design parameters, such as the diffuser length, diffuser angle, duct length, and flange height. Thus, to obtain the maximum performance output of the Shrouded Archimedes Spiral Wind Turbine (SASWT). The CFD results showed that shrouding the turbine increases the peak power coefficient and the mass flow rate through the rotor plane. The maximum power coefficient, C-P obtained from the analysis for the best configuration of SASWT was 0.49 at TSR = 3. The maximum C-P for SASWT increased by 2.1 times compared with the ASWT. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Wind energy is a rapidly developing renewable energy technology, with a new type of horizontal axis wind turbine (ASWT) designed for urban usage. The use of a wind lens has been investigated to enhance the efficiency of the ASWT, while also examining design parameters to shroud the turbine for improved performance output.