Design optimization of a horizontal axis micro wind turbine through development of CFD model and experimentation

The aim of this paper comprises of investigating the viability of using an available indigenous blade as horizontal axis micro wind turbine blade and further improvement of this particular blade performance through design modification and CFD simulation. The focus was to use this blade in the urban areas of Bangladesh where the air speed is not usually high enough to harness wind energy with a micro wind turbine efficaciously. Though it requires a minimum wind speed of around 4.2 m/s to start self-rotation of this available blade without the help of external aid, the optimized design would demand a less air speed as the torque would be increased and this might be successfully used in roadside or housetop applications. Experimental and numerical analyses were conducted with the blade and the design modification and optimization were done with the help of CFD analysis. The experimental and numerical plots showed excellent similitude in qualitative manner We went through with the optimization of blade design based on the blade pitch angle and subtended angle. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.