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Analysis of small vertical wind turbine having H-Darrieus blades with stall
delay model

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DOI: 10.1063/1.4826702

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 Analysis of small vertical wind turbine having H-Darrieus blades with stall delay model
Feng-Zhu Tai, Teak-Han Yun, Ki-Weon Kang, and Jang-Ho Lee

Citation: Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy 5, 052011 (2013); doi: 10.1063/1.4826702
View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4826702
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 JOURNAL OF RENEWABLE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY 5, 052011 (2013)

Analysis of small vertical wind turbine having H-Darrieus

blades with stall delay model
Feng-Zhu Tai,1 Teak-Han Yun,1 Ki-Weon Kang,2 and Jang-Ho Lee2,a)
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Kunsan National University,
South Korea
2
School of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering, Kunsan National University,
South Korea
(Received 6 March 2013; accepted 11 October 2013; published online 22 October 2013)

Several models, about the power performance prediction for the Darrieus wind
turbines, have been developed during the last decades. Among these models, an
enhanced multiple stream tubes model, LDWT (Lee-Darrieus Wind Turbine
model) for Darrieus wind turbine blade with experimental aerofoil characteristics
showed simple, fast, and precise results, without time consuming, of solving
Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equation for the complex air flow passing
through rotational blade. Recent interest has been paid on the straight Darrieus
rotor blade (H-Darrieus rotor) because of its several advantages over the curved
blades. However, few reports cover its power performance prediction model. In
this paper, the LDWT was extended into the H-Darrieus rotor with 2-dimensional
experimental data and stall delay model. From results for the high solidity H-
Darrieus rotor, LDWT underestimate the test data without stall delay model, but it
shows dramatically well matching with test data when stall delaying is calculated
additionally in the model. Therefore, it is shown that the model with stall delaying
can be used for the design and analysis of H-type vertical wind turbine blade
without solving of Navier-Stokes equation. V C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4826702]

I. INTRODUCTION
Wind turbines represent a developing and promising technology for the electric power pro-
duction without any direct CO2 generations in its operations. And vertical axis wind turbine is
one of them to achieve that without any yawing mechanism used for horizontal axis wind tur-
bines.1 So, for the sake of being more cost-effective, it is necessary to analyze the aerodynamic
performance in order to deduce the optimum design parameters as well as properly predict per-
formance before fabrication.
The existing prediction models for aerodynamic performance of a curved-blade vertical-
axis wind turbine, including single stream tube model, multiple stream tube model, vortex mod-
els2 and lift-line model,3 etc., have been developed in the last several decades. In comparison,
enhanced multiple stream tube model LDWT (Lee-Darrieus Wind Turbine model),4 which con-
siders variation of streamtube velocities through the rotor and accurate local Reynolds number
(Re), has been taken as a reasonably simple and relatively accurate acronym for small-scale
vertical Darrieus rotors without of time consuming of solving RANS (Reynolds Averaged
Navier-Stokes) equation for the complex air flow passing through rotational blade.
Recent interest has been paid on the Darrieus rotor of straight blade (H-Darrieus rotor)
because of its several advantages over the curved blades. However, few reports cover its power
performance prediction model.

a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: jangho@kunsan.ac.kr. Tel.:þ82-63-469-4869.
Fax: þ82-63-469-1965.

1941-7012/2013/5(5)/052011/10/$30.00 5, 052011-1 C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC

V

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 052011-2 Tai et al. J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 052011 (2013)

FIG. 1. A typical H-type blade rotor.

In this paper, the LDWT algorithm for Darrieus wind turbine blade is extended into the H-
Darrieus rotor with same angle of attack in whole span of the blade and stall delaying model of
Viterna-Corrigan,5 which is called LHDWT (Lee H-Darries Wind Turbine model).
H-Darrieus rotor, as in Fig. 1, is chosen due to the available experimental data6 for both
the aerofoil and rotor, and its geometry parameters are presented in Table I. The performance
of the selected rotor was calculated with LHDWT computer code, and the results were com-
pared with the available experimental data.6 In this paper, it is demonstrated the underestima-
tion of calculation exists in comparing with test data when only two-dimensional aerofoil char-
acteristics were used in the calculation, and shown the needs for using stall delay model. When
one stall delay model is adopted as an attempt to consider the stall delaying, and it is shown
that prediction is improved dramatically for almost all tip speed ratio (TSR).

II. AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS

A. Tangential and normal coefficients based on 2-D lift and drag data
Blade Reynolds number (Re), a measurement of air flow field on the blade, is one of the
most important parameters for aerofoil characteristics. As in Eq. (1), blade Re in this study is
calculated by relative wind velocity (UR) instead of free stream wind velocity (U1), which
keeps consistent with experiment method to obtain Re for 2- dimensional (2-D) lift and drag
coefficient (CL and CD).7 Herein, q is air density and l is dynamic viscosity. Relative velocity
can be changed depending on the level of output power of wind turbine blade

qUR c
Re ¼ : (1)
l

TABLE I. The turbine specifications and test condition.

Parameters Values

Number of blade (N) 3

Rotor radius (r) 1.25 m
Height of rotor (h) 3m
Chord (c) 0.4 m
Aerofoil profile NACA 0015
Free stream wind speed (U1) 6, 8, and 10 m/s

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FIG. 2. Coefficients as functions of angle of attack for different Reynolds numbers (NACA 0015 aerofoil).

Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) show results of lift and drag coefficients (CL and CD) for NACA 0015
aerofoil with different Reynolds numbers from Ref. 4. Consequently, results of tangential and
normal coefficients (Ct and Cn) with different Re, as in Figs. 2(c) and 2(d), can be calculated
by Eqs. (2) and (3). Those coefficients denote rotational torque and normal (or centrifugal)
force of rotating blade, respectively. Once tangential and normal coefficients are obtained based
on the lift and drag coefficients as shown in Fig. 2, torque and normal forces can be determined
as a function of Re and angle of attack (AOA). From Fig. 2(a), there is a rapid reduction in the
lift coefficient as AOA increases. It is called a stall. The influence of Re on aerodynamic char-
acteristics of aerofoil (a, CL and CD) is remarkable, as we know, in the stall zone.8 It is obvious
that a higher Re can increase stall AOA and enlarge the lift coefficient at stall point

Ct ¼ CL sina  CD cosa; (2)

Cn ¼ CL cosa þ CD sina: (3)

B. Stall delay model

There are several stall delay models to take the dynamic stall effects into account, such as
Viterna-Corrigan post-stall model,5 Corrigan-Schilling stall delay model,9 PROPID model,10
Boeing-Vertol dynamic-stall model,11 and so on.
To the Viterna-Corrigan post-stall model, it’s an empirical model for modifying tow-
dimensional airfoil data in all three regimes to more accurately represent wind turbine rotor
behavior, which has been developed by Viterna and Corrigan. The equations are as follows:

a  aS :
CD;max cos2 a (4)
CL ¼ sin 2a þ KL ;
2 sina

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 052011-4 Tai et al. J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 5, 052011 (2013)

CD ¼ CD;max sin2 a þ KD cosa; (5)

sinaS
KL ¼ ðCL;S  CD;max sinaS cosaS Þ ; (6)
cos2 aS

CD;S  CD;max sin2 aS

KD ¼ : (7)
cosaS

Herein, CL,S is lift coefficient at stall AOA, CD,S is drag coefficient at stall AOA, CD,max is the
maximum drag coefficient in the fully stalled regime, and as is stall starting AOA. In this study for
NACA 0015 of wing shape, the maximum drag coefficient of 1.8 is applied based on the test
data.7 Fig. 3 shows the results by applying the Viterna-Corrigan post-stall model into the calcula-
tion of lift and drag coefficients with AOA at Reynolds number of 40 000 and 160 000.

III. CALCULATION ALGORITHM

In calculation, LDWT4 is simplified to LHDWT, in which single AOA is used along the
span direction of the blade at a given TSR because of non-curved straight shape of H-type

FIG. 3. Modified lift and drag coefficients by Viterna-Corrigan stall model.

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Darrieus blade, and modified lift and drag coefficients are prepared to use in the greater AOA
than the stall starting AOA. The flow chart (Fig. 4) for power description can be described as
the following steps:

(1) Start from the first position (h0); Assign a value of the local streamtube wind velocity (U) and
the corresponding interference factor, a (Eq. (8)) at the specified position.
(2) Calculate the values of attack angle, a (Eq. (9) in Table II), and relative velocity, UR (Eq.
(10)), and local blade Reynolds number, Re (Eq. (1)), according to the pervious data.
(3) Find out the values of Ct and Cn (Eqs. (2) and (3)) by applying the linear interpolation method
with CL and CD.
(4) Calculate the values of tangential force, Ft (Eq. (11)), and normal force, Fn (Eq. (12)), and
new-generated local streamtube wind velocity (U0 ).
(5) Calculate the values of streamwise force, Fx (Eq. (13)) and the new local stream tube wind ve-
locity (U0 ) using the momentum equation (Eq. (14)).
(6) Compare the values of local stream tube wind velocities U and U0 . If the deviation between is
within the iteration error, then go on to the next step. Otherwise, replace the initial value of
local stream tube wind velocity U as U0 , and go back to the step 2.
(7) Calculate the values of torque of this element for the preparation of output power and power
coefficient calculation.

FIG. 4. Flowchart of LHDWT algorithm for symmetric aerofoil.

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TABLE II. Equations used in the flowchart (Fig. 4).

Name Equations

U
a¼1
Induced factor U1 (8)

 
U sinh
a ¼ tan1
Angle of attack U cosh þ xr (9)

U sinh
Relative velocity UR ¼ (10)
sina

1
Tangential force Ft ¼ Ct qhcUR 2 (11)
2

1
Normal force Fn ¼ Cn qhcUR 2 (12)
2

Fx ¼ ðFn sinh þ Ft coshÞ

Streamwise force (13)

2 Fx
a0 ¼ a0 þ
Momentum equation 2pqrhjsinhjU1 2 (14)

"  2 #
P
Nt Nc x UR
Power coefficient Ct (15)
1 2 U1 U1
Cp ¼
Nt

(8) Move to a new position: first on the same height but different azimuth angles, h ¼ h0þDh,
until h ¼ 180 (Nt is 18 in this calculation).
(9) Calculate the rotor output power and power coefficient, Cp (Eq. (15)), when calculations at all
positions are finished.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Calculation results without delay models
Analysis results for the power coefficient with TSR are presented in Fig. 5, in which analy-
sis conditions in Table I and only two dimensional aerodynamic characteristic data without
using stall delay model are applied to LHDWT, the simplified algorithm of LDWT.4 From Fig.
5, it is obvious that the calculation results for all TSR are too much underestimated.
To check the reason, the distributions of AOA are reviewed along azimuth angle of rota-
tion at wind speeds of 10 m/s, 8 m/s, and 6 m/s, and TSR of 1.0 and 1.6, respectively, as shown
in Fig. 6. The stall region exists in the AOA between 8 and 25 from Fig. 2 in all Reynolds
numbers. In Fig. 5, it is shown that about 16% portion of half rotation of blade with TSR, 1 is

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FIG. 5. Comparison of calculation without stall delay and test data.

FIG. 6. Distribution of AOA vs. azimuth angle with various free stream wind velocities and TSRs.

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TABLE III. Ct as a function of Re and AOA.7

Re/AOA 0 1 2 3 4 5

10 000 0.036 0.035 0.034 0.033 0.034 0.034

20 000 0.027 0.025 0.021 0.015 0.008 0.008
40 000 0.020 0.018 0.013 0.005 0.007 0.007
80 000 0.015 0.013 0.007 0.002 0.014 0.013
160 000 0.012 0.010 0.004 0.005 0.017 0.018
360 000 0.009 0.007 0.002 0.007 0.020 0.020
700 000 0.008 0.006 0.001 0.009 0.022 0.022

in the stall region, and about 35% in TSR, 1.6. Larger portions of rotation are in the stall region
with higher TSR. In our previous research,4 it has been already shown that the tangential coeffi-
cient can be largely underestimated in the stall region when the dynamic stall effect is not con-
sidered in the calculation because much smaller lift coefficient than the real case is used in the
calculation. From Eqs. (2) and (15), it can be also shown that the lower lift coefficient makes
the tangential coefficient and the power coefficient smaller in direct proportion of lift coefficient
drop. As a result, the ignorance of dynamic stall is the main reason for the underestimation of
the calculated power coefficient.
Increasing TSR leads to a smaller AOA, and it makes quite small corresponding Ct when
AOA is very small, even negative as in the shadow areas in Table III because of the drag as
shown in Eq. (2). Therefore, the generated power in this case is inconsiderable, and there exists
minimum AOA (or maximum TSR) for the power generation in the condition of given wind
speed. Higher AOA will be needed for the better power generation in lower Reynolds number
of air flow as shown in Table III. Using the table, initial pitch angle can be designed to avoid
any region of negative generating torque.
For the different power coefficients in each various wind speed, Reynolds number is the
dominant factor. Fig. 7 shows the distribution of Reynolds number for different wind speeds of
6 m/s, 8 m/s, and 10 m/s. Reynolds number keeps decreasing as the azimuth increases from 0
to 180 when free stream wind velocity is constant, and rises when the free stream wind veloc-
ity is larger in the constant TSR and azimuth.

B. Calculation results with stall delay model

Fig. 8 shows calculation results with application of stall delay model. It is evident that the
gap between calculation and test has been dramatically reduced with one stall delay model of
Viterna-Corrigan compared with Fig. 5, and especially when TSR is relatively high from 1.5 to

FIG. 7. Distribution of Reynolds number depending on azimuth angles for various wind speeds when TSR ¼ 1.

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FIG. 8. Results with stall delay model of Viterna-Corrigan.

2.2. When the stall delay model is applied in the LHDWT, the lift coefficient is kept in high
level without any sudden drop even though AOA is in stall region as shown in Fig. 3.
Therefore, the tangential coefficient of Eq. (2) can be higher compared to the calculation with-
out stall delay model, which makes higher torque, power, and power coefficient. As shown in
Fig. 6, the portion of AOAs in the stall region is much greater in higher TSR. That will be the
reason for better match between the calculation and the test in the region of higher TSR of
1.5–2.2.

V. CONCLUSIONS
This proposed paper focuses on the extensive application of LDWT and its simplified algo-
rithm, LHDWT, into H-type Darrieus rotors. The results can be summarized as follows:

• Without considering stall impact on the airfoil of an H-Darrieus blade, calculation results show
big mismatch with test data about three times lower in the power coefficient even though the
TSR of 1.7 is well matched each other on the point of the maximum power coefficient. And it is
verified that the main reason of the mismatch is the ignorance of dynamic stall effect with anal-
ysis of angle of attack along azimuth angles of rotational direction.
• And more, the operating regions of negative torque for H-Darrieus blade are proposed with
Reynolds number and AOA using current developed calculation method (LHDWT). From the
results, proper initial pitch angle to avoid any region of negative torque can be designed for the
better performance of the blade of H-type turbine.
• Finally, it is shown that dramatic improvement of predicting about three times better than
before can be obtained by considering stall delaying model with semi-empirical correlation of
aerodynamic coefficients. So, LHDWT will be applicable to design and analysis of H-type ver-
tical blade quickly without time consuming of solving RANS equation for the complicated air
flow around rotating blade.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the New & Renewable Energy (No. 20123021020010) and the
Human Resources Development program (No. 20124010203240) of the Korea Institute of Energy
Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) Grant funded by the Korea Government Ministry of
Knowledge Economy.
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