Analysis of the rotor of an H-Savonius hybrid vertical axis wind turbine using computational fluid dynamics

Abstract

Simulation is a versatile and potent tool for design. It allows to anticipate, evaluate, and analyse real behaviour,
obtaining its best configuration. The present work develops the study of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) rotor
by means of numerical simulation on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software. The studied turbine is a hybrid
low-capacity H-Savonius, and its torque, generated potency and (Potency coefficient, which is the ratio between the
electrical energy produced by the turbine and the wind kinetic energy, ) are obtained through this simulation. The
resulting data are an estimate of the performance of this innovative design. ANSYS Workbench software is used.
ANSYS DesignModeler is employed for the geometry modelling and layout; ANSYS Meshing is utilised for the
meshing; and ANSYS Fluent is used for CFD simulation. URANS (Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes)
simulation in 2D is carried out employing the Sliding Mesh technique and turbulence model SST of 4 equations
(TSST) to evaluate the turbine performance at a uniform wind speed of 7 m/s. An analysis of meshi independence
was also conducted. The Single Frame Motion technique was used to initialize the Sliding Mesh simulation.