Experimental Wind Tunnel Study of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Interactions

In order to investigate the interaction between multiple Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs), especially the influence of wake effect on the performance of the wind turbine, wind tunnel experiments were carried out in this study. The experiment used SOLIDWORKS 3D modeling software to design and construct a scaled wind turbine model of a vertical axis wind turbine, which was assembled into a complete wind turbine structure using 3D printing technology as the wind turbine model for this experiment. By comparing the influence of the upstream wind turbine wake on the downstream wind turbine at different positions, the experimental results show that when the incoming flow speed and direction are fixed for the clockwise rotation of the turbine, the influence of the upstream wind turbine wake on the downstream wind turbine is minimized at the position between 0.5 D and 1.5D on the right side of the upstream wind turbine, and the efficiency of the downstream wind turbine reaches its maximum at this point. The efficiency of the downstream wind turbine is minimized at the position between 0.5 D and 1.5 D on its left side. Accordingly, an arrangement is proposed to place the downstream wind turbine behind the right side of the upstream wind turbine to improve the overall power generation efficiency. This experiment explores the effects of the wake generated by the upstream turbine on the downstream turbine, and further illustrates that a reasonable turbine location arrangement can help to improve the wind energy utilization efficiency and power generation of the turbine cluster.