Aerodynamic Performance and Self-Starting Analysis of Darrieus Wind Turbines with J-Shaped Airfoils

Abstract

To meet the challenges of the impending energy crisis, greenhouse gases, global warming, and pollution from fossil fuels, it is essential to incorporate different types of renewable energy technologies. From this perspective, wind energy is one of the most abundant and highly contributing renewable sources among other technologies. The Darrieus-type straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbines (SB-VAWTs) have immense potential to extract wind energy as a standalone system, particularly in remote locations. The increasing enthusiasm toward the advancement of Darrieus-type SB-VAWTs can offer a potential remedy for addressing power shortage and the unpredictability of climate conditions. The SB-VAWTs provide distinct advantages over their counterparts due to their linear blade design and uncomplicated structure. However, the aerodynamic performance of SB-VAWTs is not as good as that of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). Further, the starting characteristics of the SB-VAWTs are poor, which limits their applicability in low wind speed environments for small-scale power generation. In that context, the present study is focused on analyzing the aerodynamic performance and starting characteristics of Darrieus-type SB-VAWTs with J-shaped airfoils.