Innovative multiobjective optimization of a curved‐blade vertical axis wind turbine modeled by modified double multiple streamtube method

Abstract

The attractive specifications of vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) are its operating with low noise and wind in various directions. To achieve a higher performance of these turbines, modeling of a curved‐blade VAWT by the modified double multiple streamtube (DMST) method and optimizing this wind turbine are performed. The power coefficient and the total normal force acting on blades were selected as two objective functions. Minimizing the normal force acting on turbine blades as the second objective function was not observed in the open literature. The amount of normal force is crucial in the structural design of VAWT because it generates both the bending moment on blades and forces on supporting arms of VAWT. Another innovation of this study is to consider the shape coefficient parameter that determines the shape of the rotor geometry as a design variable in optimization procedure. A 3 m height curved‐blade VAWT type was optimized by this multi‐objective optimization technique. The optimum values of the design variables obtained by the Genetic Algorithm were selecting an elliptical rotor geometry, pitch angle −1.4°, diameter/height 1.3, blade aspect ratio 19.8, tip speed ratio 4.3 and selecting three blades which could provide a power coefficient of 0.49 and a normal force of 158.7 N.