Influence of Reynolds Number on Aerodynamic and Performance Coefficients of a Novel Parabolic-Bladed Savonius Wind Rotor

Abstract

The vertical-axis Savonius wind rotor is known for its design simplicity, better starting qualities, and direction independency despite its inferior efficiency when measured against certain other types of vertical-axis wind rotors. Despite a plethora of research work on Savonius rotors, an in-depth analysis of Reynolds number (Re) on aerodynamic and power coefficients of the Savonius rotors is scarce. This paper aims at exploring the influence of Re on the performance of a novel parabolic blade profile through unsteady two-dimensional (2D) computation. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations are modeled using the ansys fluent by adopting a shear stress transport (SST) k–ω turbulence model. The computational results of the novel blade profile are then compared and analyzed with an established semicircular blade profile to draw some meaningful insights into the aerodynamic performance. In the tested range of Re = 5.3 × 104–10.6 × 104, the novel parabolic blade profile outperformed the semicircular blade profile in terms of aerodynamic and performance coefficients.