Performance of a low cost circular arc horizontal axis wind turbine

Abstract

An experimental investigation and design analysis of a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine with arched steel plate section has been performed. Wind characteristics of variable regions of Bangladesh have been analyzed and hence, a compatible design of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine applicable to the pump has been carried out. Performance of the wind tUrbine models with circular arc blade section for different number of identical blades have been studied at constant wind velocity. The theoretical analysis has been done using momentum theory and Blade element theory. It is observed that the calculated results of the wind turbine with circular arc blade profile are comparable with those of the turbine with airfoil blade section. The present design is based on generating electricity and pumping water for the remote areas of Bangladesh, where moderate wind velocity persists. For a prospective regions of Bangladesh a design of wind turbine for water pumping has been performed based on the requirement of water of that region. The design incorporates the generalized procedure for determination of rotor and pump sizes. Thus it can be used for any other region as well. An extensive experimental investigation of the performance of the designed wind turbine model has been conducted in the wind tunnel. The wind turbines with 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 blades for linearized chord and twist angle have been considered. The experimental investigation was performed for each turbine at various blade pitching and at different wind velocities. Finally, the calculated results of the wind turbine have been compared with the existing experimental results. It is observed that there are good agreements between the present experimental result and the existing experimental results.