Aerodynamic Performance Evaluation

Recent instabilities in the world energy market due to depletion of fossil fuel sources, global warming threats & increasing price of fossil derivatives necessitate the need of harnessing the clean and renewable sources of energy. In this context, research in the field of wind energy is becoming particularly important. Although considerable progress has been achieved in the large-to-medium scale wind turbines, the available technical designs of small scale wind turbines are not yet satisfactory corresponding to the off-grid power generation at low wind speeds. After going through a detailed literature review, it is perceived that the Savonius-style wind turbines can be a viable option for off grid energy conversion in certain cases of confined space and low wind speed region, where the counterpart of these turbines cannot work efficiently. However, the existing design is yet a matter of research to make it more useful in particular situations. In view of this, the objective of the present investigation is set to develop & test a novel Savonius-style wind turbine with the intention of improving its performance in terms of power and torque coefficients, and starting characteristics.