The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of improving wind energy capture, under low wind speed conditions, in a built-up area, and the design of a small wind generator for domestic use in such areas. This paper reports the first part of this study: the development of the methodology using physical tests conducted in a boundary layer wind tunnel and computer modelling using commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. The activities reported in this paper are optimisation of a scoop design and validation of the CFD model. The final design of scoop boosts the airflow speed by a factor of 1.5 times equivalent to an increase in power output of 2.2 times with the same swept area. Wind tunnel tests show that the scoop increases the output power of the wind turbine. The results also indicate that, by using a scoop, energy capture can be improved at lower wind speeds. The experimentally determined power curves of the wind generator located in the scoop are in good agreement with those predicted by the CFD model. This suggests that first the developed computer model was robust and could be used later for design purposes. Second the methodology developed here could be validated in a future study for a new rotor blade system to function well within the scoop. The power generation of such a new wind turbine is expected to be increased, particularly at locations where average wind speed is lower and more turbulent. The further study will be reported elsewhere.

/pdf/the-methodology-for-aerodynamic-study-on-a-small-domestic-ju0nrn8e2d.pdf

Design optimization of a micro wind turbine using computational fluid dynamics

The methodology for aerodynamic study on a small domestic wind turbine with scoop

Six years (2004-2009) of wind speed data from the Eldoret Meteorological Station (0.53 o N, 35.28 o E) have been analyzed for wind energy estimation. Extrapolation of the 2 m height data using the power law has been used to simulate the wind speeds and wind powers for heights of 10 m, 20 m, 30 m, and 40 m. Estimated wind power densities at different hub heights range between 70 W/m 2 to 107.534 W/m 2 at 40 m height. The energy output for different commercially available small wind turbines from different manufacturers was simulated to generate their performance power curves for the different heights. The simulations reveal existence of varied energy productions for the different wind turbines. The WINDWORKER- 300H/WM-300 horizontal axis wind turbine with rated wind speed of 7 m/s and rated wind power of 300 W can be considered for small scale production of wind power. The generated power can be directly linked to household appliances and for basic domestic applications.

http://www.akamaiuniversity.us/PJST14_2_102.pdf

Small Wind Turbines: A Simulation for Optimal Selection in Uasin-Gishu, Kenya.

The present paper investigates the performance of a special micro-wind turbine designed to capture wind energy in rural as well as urban environments. Different from traditional kilo- to megawatt size wind turbines which can be connected directly to the grid, the micro-wind turbine system is flexible in size and linked with small generators that generate electric power at the site of installation for easy applications. The main advantage of this micro-wind turbine, apart from its low cost, is that it can be propelled by a wind speed as low as 2 m/s. To extract more wind energy, several such micro-wind turbines can be connected together by their external gears into an array to increase their swept areas and hence power. In the study, the performance of a single micro-wind turbine was simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and validated through physical experiments. The experimental results on angular velocity and power developed showed a good agreement with those predicted by the CFD simulation...

Design optimization of a micro wind turbine using computational fluid dynamics

Citations

The methodology for aerodynamic study on a small domestic wind turbine with scoop

Small Wind Turbines: A Simulation for Optimal Selection in Uasin-Gishu, Kenya.

Parametric study of a fan-bladed micro-wind turbine

Wind farms and their perceived impact on local landscapes : a comparative study between China and Norway

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