Zephyr wind rotor performance enhancement: Experimental and numerical investigation

Electrical power is essential for human beings welfare. The available wind as clean and renewable energy source has recently whetted extensive interest. Vertical axis wind rotor as an energy converter has the merit of being adequate for specific implementations. This research work processes a Zephyr wind rotor (ZWR). Experimental tests were realized in a wind tunnel. Numerical study was undertaken through Ansys Fluent 17.0 software. The aim of this work is to boost, numerically, the efficiency of the ZWR through its geometrical design optimization: adjusting its rotor blades and stator vanes number. As a result, the adopt method improved its output performance while bettering its aerodynamic properties.