A novel small-scale H-type Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine manufactured of carbon fiber reinforced composites

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is widely used in horizontal axis wind turbines; however, their use in vertical axis wind turbines remains uncommon. To explore the advantages of CFRP composites in vertical axis wind turbines, this study introduces a new small vertical axis wind turbine constructed from CFRP. In particular, a vacuum assisted resin infusion process was used to fabricate a carbon fiber composite blade that exhibits high strength and significantly reduced mass compared to conventional blades. A two-dimensional numerical computational model of the vertical axis wind turbine was developed using the multiple reference system model. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to validate the numerical calculations of the wind turbine. In addition, the effects of different parameters of different materials on the power output of the wind turbine were analyzed. The self-starting performance of the small vertical axis wind turbine was thoroughly examined. It was shown that the maximum power of the wind turbine equipped with carbon fiber blades was up to 14 times greater than that of the traditional wind turbine with resin blades. Furthermore, these turbines equipped with carbon fiber blades could self-start in light breezes and operate stably even at the tip speed ratio below one.