Cross-Axis-Wind-Turbine: A Complementary Design to Push the Limit of Wind Turbine Technology

Situations such as low wind speed, high turbulence and frequent wind-direction change can reduce the performance of horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). Certain vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) designs have the ability to operate well in these harsh operating conditions but they possess low power coefficient generally. In order to tackle the mentioned problems, a novel cross-axis-wind-turbine (CAWT) is conceptualized to extract wind energy from both the horizontal and vertical directions of the on-coming winds to maximize the wind energy generation. The CAWT consists of three vertical blades and six horizontal blades arranged in cross axis orientation. Initial testing showed that maximum RPM generated by the CAWT is 166% higher than the VAWT under the same experimental conditions with well-improved starting behavior. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was done to illustrate the flow field of the deflected and channeled air stream by omni-directional shroud. The air stream deflected upwards by the guide vane interacts with the horizontal blades. The CAWT is applicable in a wide variety of locations, creating significant opportunities for the use of wind energy devices and therefore alleviating dependencies on fossil fuel. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.