Development of a wind turbine simulator to design and test micro HAWTs

The development of a micro wind turbine simulator is presented in the current study. The simulator is employed to test and assess the design and the performance of micro horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT). These turbines can be used as micro wind turbines being utilized for household applications. The main system consists of a wind simulator, models of rotor blades, a tower model with a nacelle at the top. In this study, nacelle comprises a low-power step motor directly coupled with the turbine’s axis at its input and a designed circuit at its output to measure the generated power. As an innovative part of the simulator, the fan of the simulator is mounted within a guiding slide which can enable the user to change the yaw angle while maintaining the same distance from the HAWT. To calibrate the simulator, the results obtained from experimental investigations (i.e. wind simulator) were compared with BEM theory, CFD simulation as well as wind tunnel measurements. In addition, different conditions including yawed rotor and rotors with blades extending from the uniform inflow of the fan are experimentally assessed. Overall, the results show satisfactory response of the system in reproducing the characteristics of a given micro turbine at various conditions particularly when the tip speed ratio is close to the design value.