Numerical Simulations of a VAWT in the Wake of a Moving Car

Wind energy generated from the wake of moving cars has a large energy potential that has not yet been utilized. In this study, a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) was used to recover energy from the wakes of moving cars. The turbine was designed to be planted by the side of the car lane and driven b...

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Main Authors: Wenlong Tian, Zhaoyong Mao, Yukai Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2017-04-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/4/478
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author Wenlong Tian
Zhaoyong Mao
Yukai Li
author_facet Wenlong Tian
Zhaoyong Mao
Yukai Li
author_sort Wenlong Tian
collection DOAJ
description Wind energy generated from the wake of moving cars has a large energy potential that has not yet been utilized. In this study, a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) was used to recover energy from the wakes of moving cars. The turbine was designed to be planted by the side of the car lane and driven by the wake produced by the car. Transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to evaluate the performance of the VAWT. The influence of two main factors on the performance of the VAWT, the velocity of the car and the gap between the car and the rotor, were studied. The simulations confirmed the feasibility of this plan, and in the tested cases, the VAWT was able to generate a maximum energy output of 100.49 J from the wake of a car. The results also showed that the performance of the VAWT decreased with the velocity of the car, and the increased gap between the car and the VAWT.
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spelling doaj.art-81d0f71904cd4b5485c92bb3751e45892022-12-22T03:19:28ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732017-04-0110447810.3390/en10040478en10040478Numerical Simulations of a VAWT in the Wake of a Moving CarWenlong Tian0Zhaoyong Mao1Yukai Li2School of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, ChinaSchool of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, ChinaSchool of Marine Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, ChinaWind energy generated from the wake of moving cars has a large energy potential that has not yet been utilized. In this study, a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) was used to recover energy from the wakes of moving cars. The turbine was designed to be planted by the side of the car lane and driven by the wake produced by the car. Transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to evaluate the performance of the VAWT. The influence of two main factors on the performance of the VAWT, the velocity of the car and the gap between the car and the rotor, were studied. The simulations confirmed the feasibility of this plan, and in the tested cases, the VAWT was able to generate a maximum energy output of 100.49 J from the wake of a car. The results also showed that the performance of the VAWT decreased with the velocity of the car, and the increased gap between the car and the VAWT.http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/4/478wind energywind turbinecarwakehighwayCFDVAWT
spellingShingle Wenlong Tian
Zhaoyong Mao
Yukai Li
Numerical Simulations of a VAWT in the Wake of a Moving Car
Energies
wind energy
wind turbine
car
wake
highway
CFD
VAWT
title Numerical Simulations of a VAWT in the Wake of a Moving Car
title_full Numerical Simulations of a VAWT in the Wake of a Moving Car
title_fullStr Numerical Simulations of a VAWT in the Wake of a Moving Car
title_full_unstemmed Numerical Simulations of a VAWT in the Wake of a Moving Car
title_short Numerical Simulations of a VAWT in the Wake of a Moving Car
title_sort numerical simulations of a vawt in the wake of a moving car
topic wind energy
wind turbine
car
wake
highway
CFD
VAWT
url http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/4/478
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