Wind Energy

 

Improving the Performance of Small Wind Turbines

Experimental and numerical studies are being conducted to improve the efficiency of small, distributed wind turbine systems.  Clarkson's in-house design code, mRotor, utilizes a modified blade element momentum and lifting line based wake-vortex method to study and design optimum geometries.  Flow visualization is being used to observe and correlate the flow field of small horizontal axis wind turbine with the measured power extracted from the wind stream.  For a given configuration and blade pitch, the wake vortex spacing has been seen to scale inversely with blade number and tip speed ratio to indicate the point of maximum turbine performance. The best operating condition, over the entire blade pitch range, was found to correlate with the tip speed ratio to the third power.


Full-scale experiments are conducted at the Clarkson Wind Turbine Test Site in Potsdam, NY. Multiple towers and local meteorological tower measurements enable real time data to be acquired.


Current efforts are focused on ducted turbines and a unit has been built on the Clarkson campus.


Ken Visser

Associate Professor

Dept of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Clarkson University


PO Box 5725

CAMP Building 361

T: (315) 268 7687

visser@clarkson.edu

Publications

Kanya, B. and Visser, K. D.: Experimental Validation of a Ducted Wind Turbine Design Strategy, Wind Energ. Sci., 3, 919-928, Dec 2018 https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-3-919-2018

Bagheri-Sadeghi, N., Helenbrook, B. T., and Visser, K. D.: Ducted wind turbine optimization and sensitivity to rotor position, Wind Energ. Sci., 3, 221-229, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-3-221-2018, April 2018.

Venters R, Helenbrook BT, Visser KD. Ducted Wind Turbine Optimization. ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. 2017;140(1):011005-011005-8. doi:10.1115/1.4037741. Feb 2018

Venters, R., Helenbrook, B., and Visser, K.D., “Ducted Wind Turbine Optimization,” AIAA 2016-3729, AIAA Aviation, 13-17 June 2016, Washington, D.C., 34th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference

Helenbrook, B., Visser, K.D., and Wilson, S., “Ducted Wind Turbines: More Efficient Than Open Rotors?”, The 2nd International Conference on Future Technologies in Wind Energy (WindTech2015), October 19-21, 2015 - London, Ontario, Canada

Salisbury, A. and Visser, K., “Potential Inaccuracies in Energy Estimates from Standard Wind Turbine Power Curves”, The 2nd International Conference on Future Technologies in Wind Energy (WindTech2015), October 19-21, 2015 - London, Ontario, Canada

Jedamski, D., and Visser. K., “Computational Analysis of a Diffuser Using USM3D for Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbines” AIAA 2013-2966, 31st  AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, San Diego, CA, June 2013.

Bohl, D., Helenbrook, B., Kanya, B., Visser. K., Marvin, R., Mascarenhas, B., Parker, M. and Rocky, D., “Analysis and Design of a Wind Turbine with a Wind Accelerator,” AIAA-2011-3814, 29th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 2011.

Czajkowski M.F. and Visser K,  “Feasibility of a Unique Wind Powered Home Heating System”, AIAA 2009-216, 47th AIAA Aerospace Conference, Orlando, January, 2009. 

Kanya, B. M., and Visser, K.D., “The Impact of Airfoil Selection on the Design of Small Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines,” AIAA-2010-1583, 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Orlando, FL., January 2010.

Moeller, M. M., and Visser, K.D., “Experimental and Numerical Studies of a High Solidity, Low Tip Speed Ratio DAWT,” AIAA- AIAA-2010-1585, 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Orlando, FL., January 2010.

Brown, M. M., and Visser, K.D., “Optimum Blade Numbers and Solidities for Small HAWTs,” AIAA-2007-1370, 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV., January 2007.

Rector, M. C., and Visser, K.D., “Aerodynamic Design of a Small Contra-Rotating HAWT,” AIAA-2007-1371, 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV., January 2007.

Rector, M. C., and Visser, K.D., “Solidity, Blade Number, and Pitch Angle Effects on a One Kilowatt HAWT,” AIAA-2006-0608, 44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV., January 2006.

Khan, M.A., Pillay, P., and Visser, K.D., ” On Adapting a Small PM Wind Generator for a Multi-Blade, High Solidity Wind Turbine,” IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Vol. 20, No. 3, September 2005.

Bennington, M.A. and Visser, K.D., “Flow Field Characteristics of an Optimized Multi-Bladed Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine”, 11th International Symposium on Flow Visualization, August 9-12, 2004, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA

Humiston, C. and Visser, K.D., “Full Scale Results of Solidity, Blade Number and Pitch angle, on the Aerodynamics of Small Horizontal-AxisWind Turbines,” Wind Energy Conference South Africa, November 2003.

Duquette, M.M, Swanson, J. and Visser, K.D., “Solidity and blade number effects on a fixed pitch, 50W horizontal axis wind turbine,” Wind Engineering, Vol 27, No. 4,  pp. 299-316, 2003.

Duquette, M. and Visser, K.D., “Numerical Implications of Solidity and Blade Number on Rotor Performance of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines,” Journal of Solar Energy Engineering,  Vol. 125, No. 4, pp. 425-432, November 2003.

Duquette, M.M, Humiston, C.J.,and Visser, K.D., “Small Wind Turbine Research at Clarkson University,” AWEA Windpower 2002, Portland Oregon, June 4-7, 2002.