New research from Oxford Brookes University has found that vertical turbine design
Research team from the School of Engineering,Computing and Mathematics (ECM) at Oxford Brookes under the direction of Professor Iakovos Tzanakis carried out in-depth research. They used more than 11,500 hours of computer simulation to show that wind farms could operate more efficiently if traditional propeller-driven horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) were replaced with compact vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs).
The new work demonstrates for the first time on a realistic scale the potential of large-scale VAWTs compared to current HAWT wind turbines.
Modern wind farms are one of thethe most efficient ways to get green energy. However, they have one major drawback. As the wind approaches the front row of turbines, turbulence occurs downstream. It negatively affects the performance of subsequent rows.
In other words, the front row will convert about half of the wind's kinetic energy into electricity, while for the back row this number drops to 25-30%.
In turn, VAWTs rotate around an axis,vertical to the ground, as opposed to HAWT. The study found that VAWTs enhance each other's efficiency when arranged in a grid. Positioning wind turbines for maximum output is critical when designing wind farms.
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