Study on the Flow Field of Straight-Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbines with Different Airfoils

The straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine (SB-VAWT) commands a significant market share in the realm of small wind turbines, owing to its simple design, low noise output, ease of installation and maintenance, sleek appearance, and suitability for off-grid applications. Despite these advantages, the performance of vertical axis wind turbines lags behind their horizontal axis counterparts, mainly due to the intricate internal flow field. The vortex generated on the blade surfaces and at the blade tips constitute the primary in the internal flow field complexity of SB-VAWTs. Accurate identification of these vortices in the flow field is pivotal, as analyzing and optimizing them present effective means to enhance the performance of SB-VAWTs. This study focuses on SB-VAWTs with a blade chord length of 60mm, rotor diameter of 600mm, and airfoil profiles including NACA0010, NACA0012, and NACA0018. The influence of different airfoil shapes on the distribution of vortices in the SB-VAWT flow field is examined. The modeling process begins with the use of Ansys SpaceClaim, followed by numerical simulations of SB-VAWT models with various airfoil shapes conducted using ANSYS Fluent. Subsequently, the simulation results are processed through Liutex to obtain detailed vortex distribution patterns. This research robustly validates the effectiveness of the Liutex method in identifying vortex within the SB-VAWT flow field. The insights gained from this study are invaluable for optimizing the performance of SB-VAWTs, offering a promising avenue for further advancements in the field.