CORRELATION BETWEEN THE STATIC TORQUE COEFFICIENT AND THE BLADE TWIST ANGLE OF HELICAL SAVONIUS WIND TURBINES

Abstract

wind energy has gained increasing relevance in the global renewable energy landscape, and vertical-axis wind turbines represent a promising alternative for distributed power generation systems. However, their aerodynamic performance still requires improvement. Among these turbines, the Savonius rotor stands out for its simple construction and self-starting capability. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of blade twist angle on the static torque coefficient of helical Savonius turbines. Eleven geometric configurations were analyzed, with twist angles ranging from 0° to 1440°, through Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations performed using the Flow Simulation module of SolidWorks 2016. Prior to the simulations, analyses of computational domain independence and mesh convergence were conducted. The results showed that the configuration with a 270° twist angle achieved the highest mean static torque coefficient among the cases evaluated. Additionally, a correlation function relating the blade twist angle to the mean static torque coefficient was obtained.