A three-dimensional numerical study of the Magnus wind turbine with different blade shapes

Although the Magnus type wind turbine has many benefits over conventional blade-type wind turbines, it normally has low wind energy utilization efficiency. Therefore, it is important to seek effective ways of improving the Magnus wind turbine power performance in order to promote its application. As blade aspect ratio is a critical parameter influencing the Magnus wind turbine performance, a 3D numerical study of a Magnus type wind turbine which is equipped with cylindrical blades with different aspect ratios has been conducted in this paper. In addition, various cylinder shapes, including truncated cone and wavy cylinder, have also been used and their effects on the performance of the Magnus wind turbine are analyzed. Performance characteristics such as power, torque, and thrust coefficients of the Magnus turbine with different blade shapes are compared and discussed with the aim of identifying the desirable blade characteristics for this type of turbine. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4771885]