Abstract
This paper summarises the results of investigations on the Savonius-type, slow-running, vertical-axis wind-rotors as well as on rotor designs of different subclasses under comparable design and test conditions. It is seen that the performance of the conventional Savonius rotor could be considerably improved upon and the best results are achieved by using two-bladed rotors with a more sophisticated sectional profile than in the conventional design. Rotors with several blades, although capable of considerably higher performance than the Savonius rotor, do not appear to be as good as those with two blades and improved sectional geometry.
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Abbreviations
- b:
-
rotor wake width
- C:
-
blade chord
- CP :
-
power coefficient
- D:
-
diameter of end plate
- d:
-
shaft diameter
- h:
-
height of rotor
- N:
-
number of blades
- P:
-
power output from rotor
- ra :
-
wake aspect ratio
- Re:
-
Reynolds number
- RB :
-
radius of curvature
- Rp :
-
pitch circle radius
- Rt :
-
blade tip radius
- S:
-
blade sectional length
- V:
-
wind speed
- λ:
-
tip speed ratio
- ω:
-
angular velocity of rotor
- ϕ:
-
angle of setting
- ρ:
-
density
- θ:
-
blade angle
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Sivasegaram, S. Wind tunnel tests on slow-running vertical-axis wind-rotors. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Engg. Sci.) 4, 395–404 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02843183
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02843183