Aerodynamic Optimization of a Hybrid Vertical Axis Wind Turbine with Helical Blades Based on Taguchi Method

The growing demand for reliable and clean wind energy has renewed interest in vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs), which are well suited for low speed, highly turbulent urban wind conditions. This study proposes and refines a hybrid VAWT architecture, integrating straight Darrieus outer blades with a helical inner rotor, with the aim of enhancing aerodynamic behavior in these urban wind environments. Using ۳D unsteady computational fluid dynamics and a Taguchi orthogonal design, the effects of four inner rotor parameters—helical angle, radius, height, and chord length—were evaluated. The inner rotor chord length emerged as the most influential factor. The optimized hybrid turbine achieves substantially higher power coefficients than a Darrieus turbine at low tip-speed ratios, demonstrating gains of up to ۱۷.۸۹%. Vortex analysis indicates that the helical rotor suppresses dynamic stall and reduces negative torque regions, resulting in smoother torque output and improved startup behavior. Overall, optimized hybridization represents a promising pathway for enhancing the efficiency of small-scale VAWTs.

کلیدواژه ها:

Hybrid vertical axis wind turbines ، Helical blades ، Aerodynamic performance ، Taguchi method ، Numerical calculation