3D analysis of building mounted VAWT with diffuser shaped shroud

- A building-mounted diffuser is analyzed and shows that the flow can be accelerated inside a channel.
- A Savonius turbine is placed inside the diffuser shroud to extract energy from the flow.
- Computational Fluid Dynamics is used to calculate the coefficient of power.
- This paper presents a geometric optimization of the shroud diffuser and the location of the turbine.
- The coefficient of power of the turbine is improved from 0.135 to 0.34.

Wind and solar technologies are the leaders of clean energies. Wind energy is in relatively plentiful supply, can be used efficiently and is a non-polluting power production method. This paper proposes a comprehensive study of increased performance of a wind turbine design inside a diffuser shaped shroud on building roofs. A commercial CFD model is used to simulate unsteady 3D flows inside the diffuser and around the turbine. The geometric modifications and rational towards maximizing the flow speed hitting the blades, and thus maximizing power generated are described. The coefficient of power of the turbine is improved from 0.135 to 0.34.