Investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a Savonius rotor

Savonius wind rotors are highly effective at capturing wind energy due to their unique design, which includes vertically curved blades that can harness wind from multiple directions. This study focuses on optimizing the performance of a two-bladed Savonius wind rotor using Computational Fluid Dynami...

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Main Authors: Ahmed Ayadi, Nour Rabeh, Jihen Marzougui, Ridha Ennetta, Zied Driss
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Results in Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025028129
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author Ahmed Ayadi
Nour Rabeh
Jihen Marzougui
Ridha Ennetta
Zied Driss
author_facet Ahmed Ayadi
Nour Rabeh
Jihen Marzougui
Ridha Ennetta
Zied Driss
author_sort Ahmed Ayadi
collection DOAJ
description Savonius wind rotors are highly effective at capturing wind energy due to their unique design, which includes vertically curved blades that can harness wind from multiple directions. This study focuses on optimizing the performance of a two-bladed Savonius wind rotor using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations in ANSYS Fluent, with results validated against experimental data. Novel blade shapes are assessed to determine their impact on torque generation, power output, and key performance indicators such as velocity and pressure distributions. Three configurations are proposed, including modifications at the blade ends, modifications near the rotor center, and combined modifications at both the ends and the center.The results demonstrate that optimizing blade geometry can significantly enhance torque generation and power output, leading to improved energy capture. Specifically, several modified Savonius rotors have achieved higher power coefficients (Cp) compared to the standard Savonius rotor design. Among these cases, the optimized configuration reached a peak power coefficient of 0.285 at a Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) of 1.2. This represents a 20.76 % improvement over the standard Savonius rotor at the same TSR.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2590-1230
language English
publishDate 2025-09-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Results in Engineering
spelling doaj-art-96ab4cd647b04bea8f41c3366f547bba2025-08-20T04:02:50ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302025-09-012710674510.1016/j.rineng.2025.106745Investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a Savonius rotorAhmed Ayadi0Nour Rabeh1Jihen Marzougui2Ridha Ennetta3Zied Driss4Laboratory of Electro-Mechanic Systems (LASEM), National School of Engineers of Sfax, University of Sfax, Tunisia; Higher Institute of Industrial Systems of Gabes (ISSIG), University of Gabes, Tunisia; Corresponding author.Laboratory of Mechanical Modeling, Energy & Materials (LM2EM), National Engineering School of Gabes (ENIG), University of Gabes, TunisiaHigher Institute of Industrial Systems of Gabes (ISSIG), University of Gabes, TunisiaHigher Institute of Industrial Systems of Gabes (ISSIG), University of Gabes, Tunisia; Laboratory of Mechanical Modeling, Energy & Materials (LM2EM), National Engineering School of Gabes (ENIG), University of Gabes, TunisiaLaboratory of Electro-Mechanic Systems (LASEM), National School of Engineers of Sfax, University of Sfax, TunisiaSavonius wind rotors are highly effective at capturing wind energy due to their unique design, which includes vertically curved blades that can harness wind from multiple directions. This study focuses on optimizing the performance of a two-bladed Savonius wind rotor using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations in ANSYS Fluent, with results validated against experimental data. Novel blade shapes are assessed to determine their impact on torque generation, power output, and key performance indicators such as velocity and pressure distributions. Three configurations are proposed, including modifications at the blade ends, modifications near the rotor center, and combined modifications at both the ends and the center.The results demonstrate that optimizing blade geometry can significantly enhance torque generation and power output, leading to improved energy capture. Specifically, several modified Savonius rotors have achieved higher power coefficients (Cp) compared to the standard Savonius rotor design. Among these cases, the optimized configuration reached a peak power coefficient of 0.285 at a Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) of 1.2. This represents a 20.76 % improvement over the standard Savonius rotor at the same TSR.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025028129VAWTWind turbineSavonius rotorDesignPerformanceRotor efficiency
spellingShingle Ahmed Ayadi
Nour Rabeh
Jihen Marzougui
Ridha Ennetta
Zied Driss
Investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a Savonius rotor
Results in Engineering
VAWT
Wind turbine
Savonius rotor
Design
Performance
Rotor efficiency
title Investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a Savonius rotor
title_full Investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a Savonius rotor
title_fullStr Investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a Savonius rotor
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a Savonius rotor
title_short Investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a Savonius rotor
title_sort investigation of the blade tip geometry for improved performance of a savonius rotor
topic VAWT
Wind turbine
Savonius rotor
Design
Performance
Rotor efficiency
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025028129
work_keys_str_mv AT ahmedayadi investigationofthebladetipgeometryforimprovedperformanceofasavoniusrotor
AT nourrabeh investigationofthebladetipgeometryforimprovedperformanceofasavoniusrotor
AT jihenmarzougui investigationofthebladetipgeometryforimprovedperformanceofasavoniusrotor
AT ridhaennetta investigationofthebladetipgeometryforimprovedperformanceofasavoniusrotor
AT zieddriss investigationofthebladetipgeometryforimprovedperformanceofasavoniusrotor