Modeling and Comparison of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Two-Bladed and Three- Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

In this study, firstly, a three-bladed vertical axis wind turbine with straight blades was three-dimensionally modeled using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the obtained results were compared to the experimental data presented by other researchers. Then, a two-bladed vertical axis wind turbine with straight blades was simulated under the same conditions, and its aerodynamic characteristics and performance were compared to those of the three-bladed turbine. The comparison on aerodynamic characteristics between the two turbines was made at different tip velocities considering the peak power produced by each turbine at each tip velocity. Results showed that, despite its lower rigidity compared to the three-bladed turbine, the two-bladed turbine was highly efficient, with the largest difference between power factors of the two turbines occurringat a tip velocity ratio of 2.55. Furthermore, in this research, the produced power by the two-bladed turbine exceeded that of the three-bladed turbine by 54%, further confirming cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the considered two-bladed turbine.