Design, modeling and economic performance of a vertical axis wind turbine

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) is relatively simple to implement in urban areas on ground or/and building-roofs, the development of appropriate design of VAWT will open new opportunities for the large-scale acceptance of these machines. The primary objective of this research was to design and modeling of a small-scale VAWT, which can be used to meet the power for low demand applications. Two new shapes of Savonius rotor blades were examined in terms of their rotational performances against the conventional straight and the curved blades. MATLAB simulation was utilized to develop a mathematical model, which comprised of wind power coefficient, tip speed ratio, mechanical and electrical subcomponents. The measured results of developed turbine were used for the validation of the model. The aims were to analyze the turbine blade shapes, develop a mathematical algorithm, and to establish the techno-economic performance of the new curved shape design. It was modeled that the proposed turbine is capable of producing an annual energy output of 7838 kWh and the annual electricity cost/saving in Ontario turned out to be $846.51 (the price of electricity was taken $0.108/kWh).