Investigation of a cross-flow wind turbine with a hybrid frontal guiding device

Abstract The research results of a new type of frontal guide device for vertical axis wind turbines are presented. The guiding device is composed of cylindrical guide vanes and deflector. The design is derived from two different guiding devices: cylindrical guiding apparatus and so-called omni-directional guiding apparatus, which consists of plates evenly placed around the turbine’s runner. The experiments were carried out on the laboratory test bench No. 7 (wind turbines) in the Laboratory of Hydropower and Hydraulic Turbomachinery at the Technical University of Sofia. According to the obtained data, the new guiding device increases the efficiency of the turbine up to 2.5 times. A comparison is made between the obtained operating curves and those of similar wind turbines, published in various reputable journals.