Abstract
The use of deflector plates around vertical axis wind turbines is an effective method for enhancing the power characteristics of these rotors. This study investigates how varying the number of deflector plates can improve the power characteristics of a three-bladed Darrieus turbine with straight blades, utilizing computational fluid dynamics for analysis. For this purpose, 6, 8, and 10 flat plates are considered and distributed around the rotor with an inner diameter to rotor diameter ratio of 1.6 and an outer diameter to rotor diameter ratio of 8.8. All calculations have been performed at a free-wind speed of 6 m/s and tip speed ratios (TSR) of 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5. The numerical code used for a case without deflector plates has been validated against available data, yielding a reasonable agreement. The results demonstrate a significant impact of deflector plates on the power characteristics of the three-bladed Darrieus turbine. Incorporating deflector plates around the wind rotor greatly enhances the airflow directed into the rotor, leading to an improved velocity field around the blades. The findings indicate that the configuration with eight deflector plates achieved the highest performance. At TSR values of 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5, the mean power coefficient for this optimal case increased by 456.7%, 102.9%, and 287.7%, respectively, compared to the case without deflector plates.
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