A Comparative CFD Study to Analyze the Performance of NACA 0018 and S1210 Darrieus Wind Turbine Blade

Abstract

From Design to selection of blade for a particular type of turbine is a very complex job. In recent years the research on shape optimisation is growing rapidly in the field of wind energy with commercial available software package. The Darrieus type Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) can be seen as a potential alternative for utilization of wind energy. But due to higher efficiency and large scale benefits of Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT), the studies on Darrieus wind turbines have straggled considerably. But with the global requirement of renewable sources of energy, the study and development of VAWT’s have become a critical topic for wind engineering & energy community. In this paper, the performance analysis of two straight bladed Darrieus VAWT equipped with symmetrical (NACA 0018) & cambered airfoils (S1210) are studied in dynamic stall region. A comparative 2D numerical simulation has been conducted to forecast the performance of wind turbine with two different types of blades. Studies have been carried out to get different Coefficient of performance (Cp) by varying rotational speed of the turbine.