An investigation on flow behavior and performance of a wind turbine integrated within a building tunnel

There is a growing interest in the development of sustainable buildings to overcome the degradation of the natural environment by minimizing the carbon footprints of buildings. This goal can be achieved by incorporating renewable energy generation systems into buildings. A promising option is to resort to wind power to energize the urban environment. This work introduces an investigation on the performance of Savonius wind turbine rotor integrated within a building tunnel. The effect of the tunnel width relative to building width is investigated. Moreover, the effect of the tunnel location through a building model is also investigated to attain the best performance and consequently the maximum power generation from the wind. The reasons behind either the degradation or improvement of the wind turbine performance are explored based on the flow behavior including pressure distribution and velocity streamlines through the building tunnel. The numerical results demonstrate the role of vortices evolution on the rotor performance. The numerical simulations presented here are validated by present measurements conducted on the wind turbine installed within a duct and in free stream conditions. The highest performance of the Savonius rotor in terms of power coefficient (Cp) is reached by integrating the rotor within a building tunnel at the best tunnel location far from the center of the building, with a 104% increase in the Cp, as compared to free stream wind turbine. •Performance of Savonius rotor integrated within a building tunnel is studied.•The effects of relative dimensions of tunnel and building widths are investigated.•The location of the tunnel in the building in the presence of rotor is studied.•The flow behavior is examined to explore its effect on the rotor performance.•The maximum performance is attained at vertical location of 90%.