An experimental evaluation of the interplay between geometry and scale on cross-flow turbine performance

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hunt, Aidan, Strom, Benjamin, Talpey, Gregory, Ross, Hannah, Scherl, Isabel, Brunton, Steven, Wosnik, Martin, Polagye, Brian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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_version_ 1866913485187710976
author Hunt, Aidan
Strom, Benjamin
Talpey, Gregory
Ross, Hannah
Scherl, Isabel
Brunton, Steven
Wosnik, Martin
Polagye, Brian
author_facet Hunt, Aidan
Strom, Benjamin
Talpey, Gregory
Ross, Hannah
Scherl, Isabel
Brunton, Steven
Wosnik, Martin
Polagye, Brian
contents Cross-flow turbines harness kinetic energy in wind or moving water. Due to their unsteady fluid dynamics, it can be difficult to predict the interplay between aspects of rotor geometry and turbine performance. This study considers the effects of three geometric parameters: the number of blades, the preset pitch angle, and the chord-to-radius ratio. The relevant fluid dynamics of cross-flow turbines are reviewed, as are prior experimental studies that have investigated these parameters in a more limited manner. Here, 223 unique experiments are conducted across an order of magnitude of diameter-based Reynolds numbers ($\approx 8\!\times\!10^4 - 8\!\times\!10^5$) in which the performance implications of these three geometric parameters are evaluated. In agreement with prior work, maximum performance is generally observed to increase with Reynolds number and decrease with blade count. The broader experimental space clarifies parametric interdependencies; for example, the optimal preset pitch angle is increasingly negative as the chord-to-radius ratio increases. As these experiments vary both the chord-to-radius ratio and blade count, the performance of different rotor geometries with the same solidity (the ratio of total blade chord to rotor circumference) can also be evaluated. Results demonstrate that while solidity can be a poor predictor of maximum performance, across all scales and tested geometries it is an excellent predictor of the tip-speed ratio corresponding to maximum performance. Overall, these results present a uniquely holistic view of relevant geometric considerations for cross-flow turbine rotor design and provide a rich dataset for validation of numerical simulations and reduced-order models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_20616
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An experimental evaluation of the interplay between geometry and scale on cross-flow turbine performance
Hunt, Aidan
Strom, Benjamin
Talpey, Gregory
Ross, Hannah
Scherl, Isabel
Brunton, Steven
Wosnik, Martin
Polagye, Brian
Fluid Dynamics
Cross-flow turbines harness kinetic energy in wind or moving water. Due to their unsteady fluid dynamics, it can be difficult to predict the interplay between aspects of rotor geometry and turbine performance. This study considers the effects of three geometric parameters: the number of blades, the preset pitch angle, and the chord-to-radius ratio. The relevant fluid dynamics of cross-flow turbines are reviewed, as are prior experimental studies that have investigated these parameters in a more limited manner. Here, 223 unique experiments are conducted across an order of magnitude of diameter-based Reynolds numbers ($\approx 8\!\times\!10^4 - 8\!\times\!10^5$) in which the performance implications of these three geometric parameters are evaluated. In agreement with prior work, maximum performance is generally observed to increase with Reynolds number and decrease with blade count. The broader experimental space clarifies parametric interdependencies; for example, the optimal preset pitch angle is increasingly negative as the chord-to-radius ratio increases. As these experiments vary both the chord-to-radius ratio and blade count, the performance of different rotor geometries with the same solidity (the ratio of total blade chord to rotor circumference) can also be evaluated. Results demonstrate that while solidity can be a poor predictor of maximum performance, across all scales and tested geometries it is an excellent predictor of the tip-speed ratio corresponding to maximum performance. Overall, these results present a uniquely holistic view of relevant geometric considerations for cross-flow turbine rotor design and provide a rich dataset for validation of numerical simulations and reduced-order models.
title An experimental evaluation of the interplay between geometry and scale on cross-flow turbine performance
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.20616