Study on power performance for straight-bladed vertical axis wind turbine by field and wind tunnel test

In this paper, the power performance of straight-bladed VAWT is experimentally investigated by wind tunnel experiment and field test. The test rotor is two-bladed with NACA0021 airfoil profile. A survey of varying unsteady wind parameters is conducted to examine the effects of blade pitch angle, Reynolds number and wind velocity on the power performance of VAWT. Moreover, the flow field characteristics are obtained through measuring the wind velocity by Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) system in the wind tunnel experiment and three-cup type anemometers in field test. Power and torque performance are obtained through a torque meter installed in rotor shaft of the wind turbine. Experimental results estimated from the measured values from field test and wind tunnel experiment are compared. In this research, power performance and flow field characteristics are discussed and the relationship between operating conditions and wind velocity are verified. These results provided a theoretical guiding significance to the development of VAWT simplified. Estimate the effects of various unsteady wind conditions on the power performance of straight-bladed VAWT in field test and then compare the result with wind tunnel test. In order to verify the wake characteristics of the wind turbine, the wind velocity in the flow field is measured by Laser Doppler Velocimeter system in wind tunnel test. Moreover, the fluctuations of wind velocity in the wake are also investigated with three cup-type anemometer in field test. [Display omitted] •Wind velocity is measured by Laser Doppler Velocimeter system in wind tunnel experiment.•Wind velocity is measured by three cup-type anemometer in field test.•The power coefficient is reduced at high tip speed ratio with the increase of turbulence intensity.•The wake velocity in field test enables a quicker recovery than the wake velocity in wind tunnel.