A review of H-Darrieus wind turbine aerodynamic research

The H-Darrieus vertical axis turbine is one of the most promising wind energy converters for locations where there are rapid variations of wind direction, such as in the built environment. The most challenging considerations when employing one of these usually small machines are to ensure that they self-start and to maintain and improve their efficiency. However, due to the turbine's rotation about a vertical axis, the aerodynamics of the turbine are more complex than a comparable horizontal axis wind turbine and our knowledge and understanding of these turbines falls remains far from complete. This paper provides a detailed review of past and current studies of the H-Darrieus turbine from the perspective of design parameters including turbine solidity, blade profile, pitch angle, etc. and particular focus is put on the crucial challenge to design a turbine that will self-start. Moreover, this paper summarizes the main research approaches for studying the turbine in order to identify successes and promising areas for future study.