Blade shape optimization of the Savonius wind turbine using a genetic algorithm

(Chan, Bai, and He; 2018)

Keyword : Wind energy, Savonius wind turbine/rotor, Genetic algorithm optimization

1. Subject
The performance of the conventional Savonius turbine with two straight semicircular blades,
in terms of power coefficient (Cp), is relatively low and requires further improvement. Many
investigations has been done to improve performance of Savonius turbine. Either, changing the
shape of the Savonius turbine’s blades can improve its performance. Furthermore, the
performance of the Savonius turbine with optimal blades is investigated at a wide range of tip
speed ratio (TSR) to examine the feasibility of applying it in real-life applications. This work
also aims to present the flow physics underlying the behaviour of the optimal blades, based on
detailed numerical simulations, in order to improve our understanding of the aerodynamics of
the Savonius turbine.

2. Methodology
a) Genetic algorithm
GA present an intelligent approachof random searches to solving optimization problems.
Due to their generality, GAs have been applied to a wide range of optimization problems,
especially those with discrete design variables and discontinuous and nondifferentiable
objective functions.

Flow chart of the GA process.

b) Savonius wind turbine model

Geometry and symbol designations of the conventional Savonius wind turbine with
semicircular blades.
The Savonius turbine has two identical semicircular blades with a chord length L=100mm
and a uniform thickness t=2 mm.The two blades have a spacing S and an overlap O. The
oncoming wind speed is Uo = 7.30 m/s, corresponding to a Reynolds number Re = UoD/ν
= 1.0 × 105, where ν is the kinematic viscosity of air. Since the focus of the present study
is on the blade shape optimization, we simplify the turbine configuration, i.e., S = O = 0;
further, the tip speed ratio is set to be a constant TSR = 0.8, corresponding to ωz =58.43
rad/s, at which the conventional Savonius turbine achieves the best performance in terms
of the power coefficient.
c) Blade shape optimization problem formulation

The skeleton line of the turbine blades with the variable points
 Three variable points P1(X1, Y1), P2(X2, Y2) and P3(X3, Y3), together with two fixed end
points o (0, 0) (i.e., the rotation center) and A (L, 0) (i.e., the blade tip), are used to define
the blade geometry in the present study. In order to produce a reasonable blade shape,
defined by two fixed end points and three variable points, the six coordinate design
variables are to be bounded as follows:
X1: 0.05 < X1/L < 0.3
X2: 0.3 < X2/L < 0.7
X3: 0.7 < X3/L < 0.95
Y1: 0.1 < Y1/L < 0.6
Y2: 0.1 < Y2/L < 0.75
Y3: 0.1 < Y3/L < 0.6.

3. Result(s)
a) Optimal blade geometry
The optimal solutions, i.e., the GA-optimized coordinate variables defining the geometry
of optimal blade, are given in table, together with the corresponding power coefficients
and their improvements over that of the conventional Savonius turbine.

Optimal solution of three GA runs

Although somewhat different elitism selection, crossover rate and population size have
been implemented in the three runs, the similar optimal solution results obtained from the
three runs indicate the robustness of the GA optimization. With the most optimal blades
obtained from Runs 2 and 3, the Savnonius turbine has resulted in a significant increase
of 33.4% in the power coefficient than that of the conventional turbine with semicircular
blades.
b) Effects of tip speed ratio
The Savonius turbine with optimal blades from the present GA optimization
outperforms the convention Savonius turbine at a wide range of TSR. These
observations indicate that the Savonius turbine with optimal blades has great potential
to be applied in the real urban environment.
 c) Force Characteristics
The aerodynamic forces acting on the optimal blades at TSR=0.8 are examined in
terms of the coefficients of torque (CT), drag force (CD), lift force (CL), and static
pressure (Cpre), with a comparison to that on the conventional semicircular blades.
The evolutionary-based GA has been employed in this study to optimize the blade shape
geometry of the Savonius wind turbine, with the objective of maximizing the power coefficient.
Aerodynamic forces and flow structures associated with the optimal blades were investigated
in detail to gain insight into the flow physics underlying the improvement in performance.
Compared with that on the semicircular blades, the rotational driving force on the optimal
advancing blade is associated with a longer lever arm, whereas the driving force on the optimal
returning blade with a short lever arm. The Savonius wind turbine with optimal blades performs
much better than that with semicircular blades at a wide range of TSR (= 0.6–1.2), indicating
a great potential of the Savonius turbine with optimal blades to be applied in the urban
environments where wind conditions are relatively complex.

Chan, C M, H L Bai, and D Q He. 2018. “Blade Shape Optimization of the Savonius Wind
Turbine Using a Genetic Algorithm”. Applied Energy. 213 (January): 148–57.