Evolution and Progress in the Development of Savonius Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Profiles and Shapes

The blade profiles and blade shapes of vertical-axis Savonius wind turbine rotors have undergone a series of changes over the past three decades. Wind turbine aerodynamicists have carried out numerous computational and experimental research to arrive at a suitable rotor blade design configuration so as to harvest maximum energy from the available wind. In most of the studies, the geometric and aerodynamic aspects of the rotor blade design have been reported. Interestingly enough, a couple of review papers got published in the area of Savonius rotors during the last one decade. However, there is not a single piece of literature that gives a comprehensive and a systematic review of Savonius rotor blade profiles and shapes. This paper aims to collate all the research findings related to these blade profiles/shapes and makes an attempt to highlight their features together with future recommendations.