Low-center-of-gravity wind turbines (LCGWTs) characterized by tapered blades whose chord length c increases nonlinearly from the top (where c = 0.11 m) to the bottom (where c = 0.17 m) of each blade. Further, turbines featuring these blades do not need any arms, or even a center pole in the rotor. Two experimental LCGWTs (diameter: 0.4 m; height: 0.25 m) with symmetrical blades (NACA 0018) and cambered blades were built. A dead band, which is a band of tip speed ratio (TSR) where the rotor has negative torque at TSR lower than that where the maximum power-coefficient condition is achieved, was observed when symmetrical blades were subjected to low wind speed. In contrast, no dead band was observed for the cambered blades. Under high wind speeds and over a wide range of TSR values, performance of the LCGWTs was better with cambered blades than with symmetrical blades. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of 2-dimensional rotors whose blade sections corresponded to the blade sections at the equatorial planes of both types of LCGWTs showed the same tendency. Performance predictions by the blade element momentum (BEM) method using aerodynamic data on the NACA 0018 blades showed some agreement with the CFD analysis. For the cambered blade rotor, Wilson and Walker's empirical correction of the thrust coefficient, a correction that is typically used in simulations of horizontal axis wind turbines, brought the BEM prediction closer to the CFD prediction than Glauert's correction did. However, the agreement between the BEM prediction with Wilson and Walker's correction and the CFD prediction of the cambered blade rotor was thought to be just a coincidence due to large difference on the torque variations between BEM and CFD. At least, the Wilson and Walker's correction predicts larger torque than the Glauert's correction at high TSR region. : Wind power, Vertical axis wind turbine, Low center of gravity, Cambered blade, Flow curvature, Conformal mapping, Blade element momentum method, Computational fluid dynamics Comparison between symmetrical and cambered blade sections for small-scale wind turbines with low center of gravity

To reduce costs involved in manufacturing small wind turbines, an aluminum circular-blade butterfly wind turbine (ACBBWT) has been developed, in which four blades of the turbine were extruded and bent to shape then attached directly to a rotating flange. The ACBBWT is a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) and the rotor diameter of the prototype is 2.06 m. Experiments to obtain the output performance were conducted outdoors using an axial blower; however, the data obtained were rather scattered due to the effects of natural wind. Therefore, performance curves in the high wind speed range are predicted by fitting theoretical curves based on the Blade Element Momentum (BEM) theory, in which modification of virtual incidence due to flow curvature effects is included. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of a circular-blade wind turbine model (dia. 2 m) with a shape almost identical to that of the experimental rotor is performed. The results assuming an energy-conversion efficiency of 0.8 agree well with the experimental results at 7 m/s. CFD analysis shows that tip vortices are shed from the top and bottom parts of a circular blade, as with straight-blade VAWTs. However, vorticity in the circular-blade case is lower than that in the straight-blade case, and the cross-section of each tip vortex shed from circular blades appears to be in the shape of a deformed ellipse. In cases of small tip speed ratios, vortex shedding caused by the dynamic stall phenomena is observed around the equator plane in both the downstream and upstream regions, and the vortex shed in the downstream region by a circular blade forms a looped shape. Since distributions of surface pressure and skin friction obtained by 3D-CFD have a similar pattern in both the upstream and downstream regions, which is related to vortex shedding, it is considered that the vortex in the upstream region is likely to also have a looped shape.

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An objective of this study is to demonstrate the validity of using a small wind turbine to recover the fluid energy flowing out of an exhaust duct for the generation of power. In these experiments, a butterfly wind turbine of a vertical axis type (D = 0.4 m) is used. The output performance is measured at various locations relative to the exit of a small wind tunnel (W = 0.65 m), representing the performance expected in an exhaust duct flow. Two-dimensional numerical analysis qualitatively agrees with the experimental results for the wind turbine power coefficient and rate of energy recovery. When the turbine is far from the duct exit (more than 2.5 D), an energy recovery rate of approximately 1.3% is obtained.