Improving the Self-starting Performance of a VAWT

수직축 풍차의 자기동 성능 개선

The inherent problem of a Darrieus wind turbine is its inability to self-start. Usually, a motor is used to provide angular acceleration until lift forces are produced in the airfoil blades or up until the turbine can already sustain its speed on its own. This paper describes a method of improving the self-starting of an H-type Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) by incorporating a helical Savonius turbine thus utilizing a drag-lift combination. The effect of each turbine in the combination relative to each other is investigated by testing a prototype windmill consisting of three NACA 0015 airfoil blades combined with a Savonius rotor with a helix angle of 180 degrees and whose swept area equals 30% of the entire turbine.