Proceedings of IMECE2011

2011 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition

November 11 - 17, 2011, Denver, Colorado, USA

Draft IMECE2011- 64565

STUDYING THE EFFECT OF NUMBER OF BLADES ON THE AERODYNAMIC PERFORMANCE OF A

VENTURI EFFECT WIND TURBINE (VEFT) BY NUMERICAL SIMULATION

M. IZADI A. BAHRAMI D.K. AIDUN P. MARZOCCA

Mechanical &
Aeronautical Eng. Dept.,
Clarkson University, PO
Box 5725, Potsdam, NY
13699 USA
izadim@clarkson.edu
Mechanical & Mechanical & Mechanical &
Aeronautical Eng. Dept., Aeronautical Eng. Dept., Aeronautical Eng. Dept.,
Clarkson University, PO Clarkson University, PO Clarkson University, PO
Box 5725, Potsdam, NY Box 5725, Potsdam, NY Box 5725, Potsdam, NY
13699 USA 13699 USA 13699 USA
dka@clarkson.edu dka@clarkson.edu pmarzocc@clarkson.edu

B. GHEBERSELASSIE
Mechanical & Aeronautical Eng.
Dept., Clarkson University, PO Box
5725, Potsdam, NY 13699 USA
dka@clarkson.edu
M. WILLIAMS
Corpus Christi Windart Company
Kingsville, TX 78363 USA
michael.williams@ccwindart.com

ABSTRACT of the maximum air velocity and dynamic pressure are

determined from the relevant contours and the results are
Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are a type of wind
compared. The fundamentals of the flow physics in the close
turbine where the main rotor shaft is set vertically. A
proximity of the rotor and the wake are investigated by
commercial VAWT with two different designs, i.e., 4-blade
numerical simulations. The magnitude of the net torque
and 8-blade is numerically simulated and the effect of number
generated by VAWT is also calculated and the results are
of blades on the aerodynamic characteristics is investigated.
compared. The results show that increasing the number of
Commercial software (ANSYS FLUENTTM 12.1.4) is used for
blades increases the magnitude of the torque generated by
simulations. The simulations are performed with stationary
VAWT and, therefore, increases the efficiency of the wind
blades as well as rotating blades with different rotation speeds
turbine. However, a VAWT with a higher number of blades is
up to 10 rad/s while the k-? model is used for simulation of
more expensive due to higher design and manufacturing costs.
turbulent air flow around VAWT. The location and magnitude
Accordingly, there is an optimum design with respect to
Copyright © ASME 2011
efficiency and capital investment. The current study offers a (ANSYS FLUENTTM 12.1.4) is used for the numerical
practical and inexpensive method to find such an optimum modeling. All simulations are performed in 2D space and
design and can be applied to both horizontal-axis and vertical- steady state conditions contrary to the 3D transient analysis
axis wind turbines. done in [1].
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: VEFTs are
1. INTRODUCTION briefly introduced in Section 2 followed by the general
mathematical expressions for aerodynamic analysis of VEFT
Finding reliable energy resources is one of the major in Section 3. The physical model and the boundary conditions
problems of the human being in the 21st century. The world are discussed in Section 4 followed by the grid independence
currently relies heavily on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and and validation of the numerical model in Section 5. Results of
natural gas for its energy. However, fossil fuels are eventually the numerical model are presented and discussed in Section 6
decreasing as their resources are not renewable. Furthermore, and the conclusions follow in the final section.
fossil fuels are environmentally damaging and environmental
pressures are increasingly limiting the application of such 2. Venturi Effect Fluid Turbine (VEFT)
fuels. In contrast, renewable energy resources such as solar,
wind, geothermal, and biomass are constantly available and Lifting bodies (airfoils, hydrofoils, or vanes) can provide
will never run out while such energy resources are a large force normal to the free stream while the generated
environmentally friendly. Wind energy can be captured by drag is small. A lifting vane is presented in Fig. 1. The angle
wind turbines which will be studied in the present work. between the free stream and the chord line is called the angle
There are currently two categories of modern wind of attack, α. The lift and drag vary with this angle.
turbines, horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs), and vertical
axis wind turbines (VAWTs). HAWT has been considered as
the most popular wind turbine for large-scale power
production. However, VAWT has been revisited repeatedly
for several reasons. The main advantage of VAWT is its single
moving part (the rotor) where no yaw mechanisms are
required. This makes the design of VAWT significantly
simple compared to that of HAWT. Furthermore, almost all of
the components of VAWT requiring maintenance are located
at the ground level. Ease of maintenance, ability to use direct-
drive generator, independence on yaw, decreased noise of
operation, simplicity of the blade manufacture, and decreased
incidence of wildlife collisions are the main advantages of
VAWTs [1]. The reader can refer to [2] for the historical Fig. 1- Definition sketch for a lifting vane [9]
background of VAWTs.
Different designs of VAWT can be found in the literature The lifting vane presented in Fig. 1 can be utilized to
[2-5]. Islam et al. [2] classified VAWTs into three basic types, fashion a new type of VAWT which is called VEFT. This is
namely Savonius type, Darrieus type, and H-rotor type. A accomplished by rotating the vane in a helical form along the
novel design of VAWT has been recently introduced by wind turbine axis causing the wind surface to twist [6].
Corpus Christi Windart Company [6]. This new design which Accordingly, a plurality of vanes can be attached to the
is called Venturi Effect Fluid Turbine (VEFT) operates on the surface. A schematic diagram of a VEFT is shown in Fig. 2.
same aerodynamic principles as aircraft wings and propellers, Such a novel design of the VEFT results in occupying an area
giving it the efficiency of HAWT in a smaller package. significantly smaller than that of the HAWT while the VEFT
Aerodynamic modeling of VAWT has attracted attention can generate comparable energy output compared to that of
of many researchers during the past decades. The aerodynamic the HWAT.
performance of a high-reliability VAWT was discussed by
Noll and Ham [7]. The main aerodynamic models used for
performance prediction and design of straight-bladed Darrieus
type VAWT was reviewd by Islam et al. [2]. The prediction of
aerodynamic loads and rotor performance as well as dynamic
stall simulations were discussed by Brahimi et al. [8]. A
numerical investigation of aerodynamic performance of a
three-bladed VAWT was performed by Untaroiu [1].
A numerical investigation, similar to that of [1], is
performed in the current study to analyze the effect of number
of blades on the aerodynamic performance of a VEFT. Two
different designs, a 4-Blade and an 8-Blade VEFT are
numerically simulated for the constant horizontal wind
velocity of 5 m/s. The effect of rotational speed, ω, on the
aerodynamic performance of the VEFT is studied for ω in the
range of 0 to 10 rad/s (0 to 95.5 RPM). Commercial software Fig. 2- Schematic diagram of the VEFT [6]
2 Copyright © ASME 2011
3. Mathematical model for aerodynamic analysis of
VEFT

The aerodynamic analysis of the VEFT is quite complex

due to the complex geometry of the VEFT. The flow velocity
in the upstream and downstream sides of the VEFT is not
constant as shown in Fig. 3. The tangential velocity
component Vt and the normal velocity component Vn are,
respectively, obtained from the following expressions:
Vt  R  Va sin  (1)
Vn  Va cos  (2)
where Va is the induced velocity through the rotor, ω is the
rotational speed, R is the radius of the turbine, and θ is the
azimuth angle. The angle of attack (α) can be expressed as
V (3)
  tan 1 n
Vt

Fig. 4- Force diagram of the VEFT blade

where N is the number of blades. Finally, the total power (P)

can be obtained as
P  Tt  (10)
The maximum possible efficiency of an ideal frictionless wind
turbine is usually stated in terms of the power coefficient Cp
[9]
P (11)
Cp 
0.5 AV3
where P is the total power, A is the swept area, and V∞ is the
wind speed.
Fig. 3- Flow velocities of the VEFT In ANSYS FLUENTTM code the total moment vector
about a specified center O is computed by summing the cross
products of the pressure and viscous force vectors with the

moment vector r [10]
The directions of the lift and drag forces are shown in Fig.     
4. The tangential force coefficient (Ct) is basically the T  r  F p  r  Fv (12)
difference between the tangential components of lift and drag  
forces [2]. Similarly, the normal force coefficient (Cn) is the In Eq. (12) r is the moment vector, Fp is the pressure force
difference between the normal components of list and drag 
vector, and Fv is the viscous force vector. The reader can refer
forces. The expressions of Ct and Cn can be written as
Ct  Cl sin   C d cos  (4) to [10] for the detailed description of the pressure and viscous
force vectors.
C n  Cl cos   Cd sin  (5)
The elementary tangential and normal forces acting on the 4. Physical model and numerical method
element of area on the blade surface dA can be calculated as
1 (6) A 4-Blade VEFT with the rotor diameter of 600 mm and
dFt  ClW 2 dA
2 an 8-Blade VEFT with the rotor diameter of 1200 mm were
1 used for the simulations. The 3D CAD drawings provided by
dFn  CnW 2 dA (7)
2 the sponsor were imported by Gambit® software to generate
where ρ is the air density, and W is the relative flow velocity. the mesh and to define the boundary conditions. All
The torque T generated for each blade is obtained as simulations were performed in 2D space assuming steady state
1 incompressible viscous air flow. The standard k-ε turbulence
T   rdFn   C nW 2 rdA (8) model was applied to solve pressure-based Navier-Stokes
A A
2 momentum equations with standard wall function for wall
where r is the normal distance from the rotor’s center. The treatment. The convergence criterion was defined equal to 10-5
total toque Tt is calculated by adding the torques generated by for all variables.
each blade as A circular domain was considered with the diameter 10
N
times as large as the rotor diameter. In order to ensure about
Tt   Ti (9)
i 1
the effect of domain size on the results, a greater circular

3 Copyright © ASME 2011

domain was defined with the diameter 30 times as large as the
rotor diameter and the results were compared to those of the
smaller domain. Not much difference was seen between the
results obtained by the two domains. Thus, to save computer
resources, the smaller domain with the diameter 10 times as
large as the rotor diameter was considered in all calculations.
Velocity inlet boundary condition was assigned for the
left half of the circular domain with the constant horizontal
wind speed of 5 m/s while outflow boundary condition was
defined for the right half, see Fig. 5. A boundary layer with the
small mesh size of 0.15 mm (for the first row) was generated
in the vicinity of the blades to capture the high velocity
gradients in that area, see Fig. 6. The mesh is coarse far from
the rotor while it is fine closer to the rotor.
Fig. 5- Boundary conditions of the numerical model
Fig. 6- Computational grid (zoom-in)
A single rotating frame of reference was defined in
ANSYS FLUENTTM code for the blades with the rotational
speeds of 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 rad/s for 4-Blade and 8-Blade
models, see Fig. 7. The value of the torque generated by the
air flow was calculated for all cases and the results were
compared. All simulations were calculated by a Dell®
workstation 690 series with a CPU frequency of 2.66 GHz and
a core memory of 8 Gb. It took about 10-20 hours to perform
each simulation.
4 Copyright © ASME 2011
Fig. 7- Boundary conditions of the numerical model with a
single rotating frame of reference
5. Grid independence and validity of the numerical
model
Before examining the effect of number of blades and
rotational speed on the performance of the VEFT, the grid
independence of the numerical analysis should be verified.
The normal CFD procedure is to start with a coarse mesh and
gradually refine it until the changes observed in the results are
smaller than an acceptable error. Three grid systems were
selected to check the grid independence. Table 1 lists the total
number of grids for three grid systems. The mesh size far from
the rotor (2Drotor < D < Ddomain) was maintained unchanged
while a smaller mesh size was chosen for the rest of the
domain in the refining process. The contours of the velocity
magnitude and the dynamic pressure obtained by the
simulations are shown in Fig. 8 for comparison. Not much
difference is seen between the results obtained by Fine 1 and
Fine 2 grid systems. Thus, to save computer resources and to
decrease calculation costs, the Fine 1 grid system is adopted in
all calculations. A similar analysis was performed for the 8-
Blade model. However, the results are not shown for brevity.
Table 1- Number of grids in three validation grid systems
Total number of
Item Grid system
grids
1 Coarse 141422
2 Fine 1 262763
3 Fine 2 536970
It is required to compare the numerical results of the
current study with those obtained by the experimental
investigation to verify the numerical results. It is worth noting
that the main aim of the present work is qualitative
comparison of the 4-Blade and 8-Blade VEFT designs.
Accordingly, comparing the results of the current study with
those obtained by the experimental investigation is considered
as the future work.
6. Results and discussion
The contours of the velocity magnitude and dynamic
pressure obtained by the current numerical simulation for the
4-Blade and 8-Blade models are presented in Figs. 9 and 10
for different rotational speeds. For the 4-Blade model, the size
of the wake region generated by the rotor is independent of ω,
(a-1)
(b-1)
(c-1)
Fig. 8- Contours of the velocity magnitude and dynamic pressure obtained for the three grid systems; (a) coarse, (b) Fine 1, (c) Fine 2
with theory of the problem. Accordingly, the 8-Blade VEFTs
which are installed in the upstream have less impact on the
VEFTs installed in the downstream. This allows installing the
8-Blade VEFTs closer to each other and having a higher
energy output compared to that of the 4-Blade design in
similar situations.
The values of the maximum air velocity for different
rotational speeds are shown in Fig. 11 for the 4-Blade and 8-
Blade models. For the 8-Blade model the maximum air
velocity increases with the rotational speed for 0 ≤ ω ≤ 7.5
rad/s while it is independent of ω for the higher rotational
speeds. However, the maximum air velocity of the 4-Blade
5 Copyright © ASME 2011
see Fig. 9. The size of the wake region varies for different
rotational speeds for the 8-Blade model, see Fig. 10. The
smallest wake region is seen for ω = 5 rad/s for the 8-Blade
model as can be seen in Figs. 9(d-1) and 9(d-2). Comparison
of the results shows a smaller wake region for the 8-Blade
model compared to that of the 4-Blade one. This is due to the
higher turbulence generated by the 8-Blade rotor and agrees
(a-2)
(b-2)
(c-2)
model is almost independent of ω for all rotational speeds, see
Fig. 11. The different aerodynamic behavior of the 4-Blade
and 8-Blade models was previously discussed in the section
for the different size of the wake region.
It is worth mentioning the values of the total torque
generated by the 4-Blade and 8-Blade models. Tables 2 and 3
list the pressure, viscous, and total torques obtained by the
current numerical simulation. Larger torques were found for
the 8-Blade model compared to those of the 4-Blade model.
Such larger torques were expected for the 8-Blade model due
to the greater rotor diameter of this model. The absolute values
of the total torque for different rotational speeds are shown in
 (a-1) (a-2)

(b-1) (b-2)

(c-1) (c-2)

(d-1) (d-2)

(e-1) (e-2)

Fig. 9- Contours of the velocity magnitude and dynamic pressure obtained for the 4-Balde model; (a) ω = 0, (b) ω = 2.5, (c) ω = 5,
(d) ω = 7.5, (e) ω = 10 (ω is given in rad/s)

6 Copyright © ASME 2011

 (a-1) (a-2)

(b-1) (b-2)

(c-1) (c-2)

(d-1) (d-2)

(e-1) (e-2)

Fig. 10- Contours of the velocity magnitude and dynamic pressure obtained for the 8-Balde model; (a) ω = 0, (b) ω = 2.5, (c) ω = 5,
(d) ω = 7.5, (e) ω = 10 (ω is given in rad/s)

7 Copyright © ASME 2011

 Table 2- Aerodynamic characteristics of the 4-Blade model obtained by the current numerical simulation

Pressure Viscous Total

Item
ω (rad/s) torque torque torque P (W) Cp
(4-Blade)
(N.m) (N.m) (N.m)

1 0.00 -0.3531 0.0251 -0.3279 0.0000 0.000

2 2.50 -0.5251 0.0062 -0.5189 1.2973 0.060
3 5.00 -0.6484 -0.0019 -0.6503 3.2515 0.150
4 7.50 -0.7824 -0.0111 -0.7936 5.9520 0.275
5 10.00 -0.9221 -0.0209 -0.9429 9.4290 0.436

Table 3- Aerodynamic characteristics of the 8-Blade model obtained by the current numerical simulation

Pressure Viscous Total

Item
ω (rad/s) torque torque torque P (W) Cp
(8-Blade)
(N.m) (N.m) (N.m)

1 0.00 -0.6220 0.0148 -0.6071 0.0000 0.000

2 2.50 -1.5162 -0.0291 -1.5454 3.8635 0.045
3 5.00 -2.3827 -0.0765 -2.4592 12.2960 0.142
4 7.50 -3.2878 -0.1263 -3.4141 25.6058 0.296
5 10.00 -4.1113 -0.1763 -4.2876 42.8760 0.495

Fig. 12. A linear relationship can be defined between the total

torque and ω for both cases, see Fig. 12. The R-Square value
of the regression is close to unity which shows the strength of
the regression prediction. Such linear relationships are useful
to predict the performance of the VEFT for different values of
ω in the range of ω ≤ 10 rad/s.
It is desirable to compare the aerodynamic performance of
the 4-Blade and 8-Blade models. This can be done by
calculating the turbine overall power coefficient Cp which is
defined by Eq. 11. The values of Cp obtained by the current
numerical simulation are listed in Tables 2 and 3 for the 4-
Blade and 8-Blade models. Comparing the Cp values shows
that the 4-Blade model is more efficient for ω ≤ 5 rad/s while
the 8-Blade model is more efficient for the higher rotational
speeds.
Fig. 13 shows the calculated power coefficients of VEFT
designs. The independent variable is the ratio of blade-tip Fig. 11- Maximum air velocity for different rotational speeds
speed ωR to the wind speed V∞. it is worth comparing the
power coefficients of VEFT designs with those of various
wind turbine designs presented in Fig. 14 [9]. VEFT designs 7. Conclusions
have a noticeably higher Cp for the lower speed ratios
compared to the other wind turbine designs. Accordingly, On the basis of the previous discussion, the following
VEFT can efficiently produce power at very low wind speeds. conclusions are made:
It should be emphasized again that experimental data is  Comparison of the results shows a smaller wake region
required to verify the results of the current study. for the 8-Blade model. This is due to the higher
turbulence generated by the 8-Blade rotor and is expected
from theory. This allows installing the 8-Blade VEFTs
closer to each other compared to the 4-Blade ones.

8 Copyright © ASME 2011

  VEFT has a noticeably higher Cp for lower speed ratios
compared to the other wind turbine designs. Accordingly,
VEFT can efficiently produce power at very low wind
speeds.
 Verifying the results of the current study by conducting
an experimental investigation is considered as the future
work.

Nomenclature
A swept area (m2)
C Blade cord (m)
Cd Blade drag coefficient
Cl Blade lift coefficient
Cn Normal force coefficient
Fig. 12- Total torque for different rotational speeds Ct Tangential force coefficient
D Blade drag force (N)
Fn Normal force (in radial direction) (N)
Ft Tangential force (N)
HAWT Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine
L Blade lift force (N)
P Overall power (W)
r Normal distance from the rotor’s center (m)
R Rotor radius (m)
T Overall torque (N.m)
Va Induced velocity (m/s)
Vn Normal velocity component (m/s)
Vt Tangential velocity component (m/s)
Vw Wake velocity in downstream side (m/s)
VAWT Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
VEFT Venturi Effect Fluid Turbine
W Relative flow velocity (m/s)
Greek letters
α Blade angle of attack
Fig. 13- Power coefficient for different rotational speeds θ Azimuth angle
ρ Density (kg/m3)
ω Rotational speed (rad/s)

References

[1] Untaroiu, A., Barker, L., Wood, H.G., Ribando, R.J.,

Fig. 14- Estimated performance of various wind turbine designs
as a function of blade-tip speed ratio [9]
 A linear relationship was found between the total torque
and ω for both VEFT designs.
 The results show that the 4-Blade model is more efficient
for ω ≤ 5 rad/s while the 8-Blade VEFT is more efficient
for the higher rotational speeds.
9 Copyright © ASME 2011
Alliare, P.E., Numerical investigation of aerodynamic
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Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition,
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