Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 521–529

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Renewable Energy
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Performance tests on helical Savonius rotors

M.A. Kamoji a, S.B. Kedare a, S.V. Prabhu b, *
a
Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Conventional Savonius rotors have high coefficient of static torque at certain rotor angles and a negative
Received 27 January 2008 coefficient of static torque from 135 to 165 and from 315 to 345 in one cycle of 360 . In order to
Accepted 5 June 2008 decrease this variation in static torque from 0 to 360 , a helical Savonius rotor with a twist of 90 is
Available online 26 July 2008
proposed. In this study, tests on helical Savonius rotors are conducted in an open jet wind tunnel.
Coefficient of static torque, coefficient of torque and coefficient of power for each helical Savonius rotor
Keywords: are measured. The performance of helical rotor with shaft between the end plates and helical rotor
Helical Savonius rotor
without shaft between the end plates at different overlap ratios namely 0.0, 0.1 and 0.16 is compared.
Conventional Savonius rotor
Coefficient of power
Helical Savonius rotor without shaft is also compared with the performance of the conventional Savonius
Coefficient of static torque rotor. The results indicate that all the helical Savonius rotors have positive coefficient of static torque at
all the rotor angles. The helical rotors with shaft have lower coefficient of power than the helical rotors
without shaft. Helical rotor without shaft at an overlap ratio of 0.0 and an aspect ratio of 0.88 is found to
have almost the same coefficient of power when compared with the conventional Savonius rotor. Cor-
relation for coefficient of torque and power is developed for helical Savonius rotor for a range of Reynolds
numbers studied.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction start on their own as the coefficient of static torque is negative.

Savonius [1] rotor is ‘‘S-shaped’’ cross-section constructed by
two semi-circular buckets. The concept of Savonius rotor is based
on the principle developed by Flettner. It is simple in structure, has
good starting characteristics, operates at relatively low operating
speeds, and has ability to accept wind from any direction. Its
aerodynamic efficiency is lower than that of other types of wind
turbines such as Darrieus and propeller rotors. Savonius rotor is
considered to be a drag machine. This means that the main driving
force is drag force of wind acting on its blade. However, at low angle
of attacks, lift force also contributes to torque production [2].
Hence, Savonius rotor is not a pure drag machine but a compound
machine and hence can go beyond the limitation of Cp of a pri-
marily drag type machine (Cpmax ¼ 0.08 for plate type turbine,
Manwell et al. [3]). Although conventional Savonius rotors have low
aerodynamic efficiency, they have a high starting torque or high
coefficient of static torque. Due to this they are used at starters for
other types of wind turbines that have lower starting torques.
Though the starting torque is high, it is not uniform at all the rotor
angles. At certain rotor angles, conventional Savonius rotors cannot
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 22 25767515; fax: þ91 22 25726875,
25723480.
E-mail addresses: svprabhu@me.iitb.ac.in, svprabhu@iitb.ac.in (S.V. Prabhu).
Conventional Savonius rotor is having negative torque for the rotor
angles in the range of 135–165 and from 315 to 345 . Literature
suggests that two stage and three stage conventional Savonius
rotors could overcome this problem of negative torque [4,5].
However, with the increase in the number of stages, the maximum
coefficient of power decreases as reported by Kamoji et al. [4] and
Hayashi et al. [5]. The use of three bladed single stage rotor, with
each blade at 120 also reduces the torque variation in a rotor cycle
but the coefficient of power decreases as reported by Shankar [6]
and Sheldahl et al. [7]. Saha and JayaRajkumar [8] report that
twisted three bladed Savonius rotor with a twist angle of 15 has
a maximum coefficient of power of 0.14 (tip speed ratio of 0.65)
compared to 0.11 for a three bladed conventional Savonius rotor.
Helical Savonius rotors could provide positive coefficient of
static torque. Helix can be defined as a curve generated by a marker
moving vertically at a constant velocity on a rotating cylinder (at
a constant angular velocity). Fig. 1 shows a single helical rotor
blade. The inner edge remains vertical whereas the outer edge
undergoes a twist of 90 (a quarter pitch turn). The blade retains its
semi-circular cross-section from the bottom (0 ) to the top (90 ).
Combination of two such blades is called as a helical Savonius rotor
in this study. In spite of its good promise on generating positive
static torque coefficient, there is no information on helical Savonius
rotor in the open literature. Hence, the main objective of the
present study is to experimentally investigate the effect of overlap

0960-1481/$ – see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.renene.2008.06.002
522 M.A. Kamoji et al. / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 521–529

Nomenclature M mass (gms.)

R blade radius (m)
A aspect ratio Re Reynolds number
a overlap distance (m) rrope radius of the shaft (mm)
B blockage ratio rshaft diameter of the string (mm)
Cp coefficient of power S spring balance reading (g)
Cpmax maximum coefficient of power T torque (N-m)
Ct coefficient of torque Ts static torque (N-m)
Cts coefficient of static torque TSR tip speed ratio
Ctsmax maximum coefficient of static torque U free stream wind velocity (ms1)
Ctsmin minimum coefficient of static torque
D rotor diameter (m) Greek symbols
Do end plate diameter (m) r density of air
G overlap ratio m absolute viscosity of air (Pa s)
H rotor height (m) u angular velocity of rotor (rad s1)
Hw height of wind tunnel exit (m)

ratio (0.0, 0.1 and 0.16), aspect ratio (0.88, 0.93 and 1.17) and Rey-
nolds number for a 90 twist, shaft-less helical rotor at Reynolds
numbers of 120,000 and 150,000 on coefficient of power,
coefficient of torque and coefficient of static torque. Effect of the
presence of shaft for a 90 twist helical rotor is covered. These
experimental results are compared with the conventional Savonius
rotor.
2. Experimental set-up and procedure
Uniform main flow is produced by an open jet-type wind tunnel
driven by a two 7.4 kW contra rotating fans. Air exits from a square
contraction nozzle with a wind tunnel outlet of 400 mm  400 mm.
Rotors to be tested are placed at a distance of 750 mm downstream
of the wind tunnel nozzle exit such that the centre of the stationary
or rotating rotor is in line with the centre of the wind tunnel exit.
The measured velocity distribution at the rotor position is uniform
within 1% in the central area of 250 mm  250 mm. The maxi-
mum size of all the helical rotor models tested in this study is
within 250 mm  250 mm.
Fig. 2 shows the schematic of the experimental set-up for
conducting tests on helical Savonius rotors. Experimental set-up
consists of a structure housing the helical Savonius rotor fabricated
using studs and mild steel plates. The mild steel plates are held in
place by means of washers and nuts. Two bearings (UC 204, NTN
make) bolted to the mild steel plates support the helical Savonius
rotor. The usage of studs, nuts and bolts facilitated easy
replacement of rotors of different diameters and positioning of
rotor centre at the centre of the wind tunnel. The wind velocity is
determined by a pitot tube connected to a micro manometer
(Furness Controls make FC012). A brake drum dynamometer is
used for loading the helical Savonius rotor. The weighing pan,
pulley and spring balance (Salter make) are connected by a fishing
nylon string of 1 mm diameter.
Friction is an important parameter that affects the measurement
of torque of the rotating helical Savonius rotor. Friction in the
bearings and the 1 mm nylon wire string wound on the rotor shaft

2
6

7
3

1. Pulley 2. Nylon string

3. Weighing pan 4. Spring balance
5. Helical Savonius rotor 6. Shaft
7. Structure

Fig. 1. A schematic of a single helical rotor blade. Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the set-up.
 M.A. Kamoji et al. / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 521–529 523

Table 1 Table 2
Uncertainties of various parameters Details of overlap ratio, aspect ratio and rotor diameter of helical Savonius rotors
covered in this study
Parameter Uncertainty (%)
Tip speed ratio 2.5 Rotor number Overlap ratio (a/D) Aspect ratio (H/D) Rotor diameter ‘D’ (mm)
Coefficient of static torque 4.5 1 With shaft 1.0 224
Coefficient of power 4.8 2 0.00 0.88 230
3 0.00 0.93 230
4 0.00 1.2 211
5 0.10 1.0 215
6 0.16 1.0 215
must be minimized. The seals are removed from the bearings and
bearings are washed in petrol to remove the grease before
mounting resulting in the reduction of friction. Wind velocity is
adjusted corresponding to a given Reynolds number and the rotor Coefficient of torque (Ct), coefficient of static torque (Cts) and
is allowed to rotate from no load speed. Rotational speed of the coefficient of power (Cp) are given by
rotor is recorded by a non-contact type tachometer. Each bearing is
4T
sprayed with W-D 40 (a commercially available spray) lubricant Ct ¼ (4)
before each reading [9]. The rotor is loaded gradually to record
rU 2 D2 H
spring balance reading, weights and rotational speed of the rotor.
A set of tests are carried to calculate the static torque of the rotor
at a given rotor angle using the brake drum measuring system. The 4Ts
Cts ¼ (5)
static torque of the rotor is measured at every 15 of the rotor angle. rU 2 D2 H
At a given wind velocity, the rotor is loaded to prevent it from
rotation at a given rotor angle. The values of load and spring balance
reading are recorded to calculate the static torque at a given rotor Cp ¼ TSR  Ct (6)
angle.
Blockage ratio (B) is given by

3. Data reduction HD
B ¼ (7)
Hw W
Reynolds number based on the rotor diameter is given by
where, Hw is the height of the wind tunnel exit and W is the width
rUD of the wind tunnel exit.
Re ¼ (1) The maximum blockage ratio is within 39% for all the helical
m
rotor models studied. The effect of blockage ratio is negligible on
where, Re is Reynolds number , r is the density of air, U is the free Cp, Ct and Cts for rotors in an open jet wind tunnel as reported by
stream velocity, D is the rotor diameter and m is the absolute vis- Kamoji et al. [4]. Uncertainties in various basic parameters,
cosity of air. coefficient of static torque and coefficient of power are presented in
Tip speed ratio is given by Table 1. The uncertainties in the coefficient of static torque and
coefficient of power at the maximum coefficient of power are
uD
TSR ¼ (2) around 4.5% and 4.8%, respectively. Uncertainty calculations are
2U carried out based on Moffat [10].
where u is the angular velocity of the rotor.
Torque calculated from the measured load and spring balance
4. Rotors covered in this study
load is given by

The helical Savonius rotors (with and without shaft in between
ðM  SÞ rshaft þ rrope g
T ¼ (3) the end plates) with a twist of 90 are fabricated in a rapid proto-
1000 typing machine. Fig. 3(a) shows a helical Savonius rotor with shaft
where, M is the load, S is spring balance load, rshaft is the radius of in between the end plates. Two helical Savonius rotor blades each
the shaft, rrope is the radius of the nylon string. with a twist of 90 are assembled at an appropriate overlap ratio to

Fig. 3. Helical Savonius rotors (a) with provision for shaft between the end plates; (b) and (c) two views of helical rotor without shaft between the end plates.
524 M.A. Kamoji et al. / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 521–529

1 With central shaft; Overlap ratio = 0.0; Aspect ratio = 1.0

Without shaft; Overlap ratio = 0.0; Aspect ratio = 0.88
Without shaft; Overlap ratio = 0.1; Aspect ratio = 0.96
Without shaft; Overlap ratio = 0.16; Aspect ratio = 1.0

0.20

Coefficient of power
H Helical 90 deg.;
0.16
Re = 120000
0.12
1 0.08

0.04

0.00
Do 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Tip speed ratio

0.32

Coefficient of torque
0.28
0.24
2
R 0.20
0.16
0.12
0.08 Helical 90 deg.;
0.04 Re = 120000
a 0.00
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Tip speed ratio
2
Coefficient of static torque

0.40
D Helical 90 deg.;
0.32 Re = 120000

0.24
1 End plates, 2 Rotor blades,
R = Radius of the rotor blade, D = Diameter of rotor, 0.16
a = Overlap distance, H = Height of the rotor, 0.08
Do = Diameter of the end plate
0.00
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
Fig. 4. Two bladed single stage conventional Savonius rotor with an overlap (without
shaft in between the end plates). Rotor angle (degree)

Fig. 5. Variation of coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and coefficient of static

torque for helical Savonius rotor with 90 twist at a Reynolds number of 120,000.
obtain a helical rotor without shaft. Fig. 3(b) shows a helical
Savonius rotor for a given overlap ratio in which no shaft exists
between the two end plates. Table 2 shows the configurations of
coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and coefficient of static
the helical Savonius rotors with shaft (rotor 1) and without shaft
torque. Coefficient of static torque is obtained for rotor angles
(rotor 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) covered in this study.
ranging from 0 to 360 in steps of 15 . Helical rotors without shaft
All the helical Savonius blades are made from ABS plastic
are tested for different overlap ratios of 0.0, 0.1 and 0.16. Perfor-
material (class of thermoplastic based on acrylonitrile–butadiene–
mance of helical rotors without shaft is compared with that of
styrene copolymer). The blades are of 3 mm thickness. The rotors
a helical rotor having a shaft. Helical rotor with an overlap ratio of
are covered at the top and bottom by an acrylic plate of 10 mm
zero resulted in maximum coefficient of power compared to rotors
thickness. The diameter of the top and bottom circular end plates is
with overlap ratio of 0.1 and 0.16. Helical Savonius rotors with zero
1.1 times the rotor diameter. Stainless steel flanges housing the two
overlap ratios are tested for three aspect ratios namely 0.88, 0.93
end shafts are bolted to the two acrylic sheets as shown in Fig. 3(b).
and 1.17. Helical rotor with an aspect ratio of 0.88 has higher
Performance of helical Savonius rotor is compared with that of
coefficient of power compared to rotors with an aspect ratios of
conventional Savonius rotor. Fig. 4 shows a two bladed conven-
0.93 and 1.17. Helical rotor with an overlap ratio of zero and an
tional Savonius rotor (without shaft in between the end plates)
aspect ratio of 0.88 is tested for different Reynolds numbers
with an overlap ratio (ratio of overlap distance (a) to diameter of
and compared with the performance of conventional Savonius
the blade (D)) of 0.15. Overlap ratio of 0.15 is an optimum value
rotors [13].
from the standpoint of coefficient of power as reported in the lit-
erature for conventional Savonius rotor [7,11,12]. The diameter of
the top and bottom circular end plates is 1.1 times the rotor 5.1. Effect of overlap ratio
diameter. There is no central shaft in between the top and bottom
plates. Figs. 5 and 6 show coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and
coefficient of static torque for a rotor with shaft and rotor without
shaft (overlap ratios of 0.0, 0.1 and 0.16) at Reynolds numbers of
5. Results and discussions 120,000 and 150,000, respectively. It may be observed that the
coefficient of power increases with the increase in the tip speed
Helical Savonius rotors are tested for Reynolds numbers of ratio up to a maximum value. Coefficient of power decreases with
120,000 and 150,000. Tests are conducted for determining the further increase in the tip speed ratio. Helical Savonius rotor
 M.A. Kamoji et al. / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 521–529 525

With central shaft; Overlap ratio = 0.0
Without shaft; Overlap ratio = 0.0
Without shaft; Overlap ratio = 0.1
Without shaft; Overlap ratio = 0.16
0.20
Coefficient of power
maximum coefficient of power is experienced appears to be sen-
sitive to Reynolds number.
Table 4 shows the maximum and minimum coefficients of static
torque and the corresponding rotor angle. Helical Savonius rotors
with and without shaft (overlap ratio ¼ 0, 0.1 and 0.16) have
positive coefficient of static torque for all the rotor angles. The

0.16 Helical 90 deg.;

Re = 150000 percentage variation between the maximum and minimum
0.12 coefficients of static torque is lowest for a helical Savonius rotor
with an overlap ratio of 0.1 compared to overlap ratios of 0.0 and
0.08
0.16. It is observed that, for helical Savonius rotors with shaft and
0.04 without shaft (overlap ratio ¼ 0.0), there is no sharp increase in the
0.00 static torque coefficient between rotor angles of 60–120 and from
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 240 to 300 . This sharp increase in the static torque coefficient is
Tip speed ratio observed for rotors with overlap ratios of 0.1 and 0.16. This increase
could be due to the overlap between the blades.
0.32
Helical 90 deg.; 5.2. Effect of aspect ratio
Coefficient of torque

0.28
Re = 150000
0.24
0.20 Fig. 7 shows the effect of aspect ratio on the coefficient of power,
0.16 coefficient of torque and coefficient of static torque for a helical
0.12 Savonius rotor with a 90 twist at a Reynolds number of 120,000.
0.08 Performance of helical Savonius rotor with an aspect ratio of 0.88 is
0.04 marginally higher (Cpmax ¼ 0.165 at a TSR ¼ 0.7) compared to the
0.00 helical rotor with a rotor aspect ratio of 0.93 (Cpmax ¼ 0.16 at
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
a TSR ¼ 0.74). Coefficient of static torque varies from 0.27 to 0.0038
Tip speed ratio
for a rotor with an aspect ratio of 0.88 and from 0.17 to 0.04 for
a rotor with an aspect ratio of 1.17. Coefficient of static torque varies
Coefficient of static torque

0.40
Helical 90 deg.;
0.32 Re = 150000
0.24
0.16
0.08
0.00
0 45 90 135 180
Rotor angle (degree)
Fig. 6. Variation of coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and coefficient of static
torque for helical Savonius rotor at a Reynolds number of 150,000.
with a shaft has the lowest coefficient of power (0.092) among all
the rotors covered in this study. Helical Savonius rotor without
shaft for an overlap ratio of zero results in maximum coefficient
power among the three overlap ratios studied.
Table 3 shows the values of maximum coefficient of power and
the corresponding tip speed ratio at Reynolds numbers of 120,000
and 150,000 for various helical Savonius rotors tested in this study.
It may be seen that the tip speed ratio at which the maximum
coefficient of power is observed decreases with the increase in the
overlap ratio for helical Savonius rotors without shaft. Maximum
coefficient of power for a helical Savonius rotor without shaft is
around 0.175 for a zero overlap ratio at a tip speed ratio of around
0.9 and at a Reynolds number of 150,000. Tip speed ratio at which
from 0.08 to 0.33 for a helical Savonius rotor with an aspect ratio of
0.93.
5.3. Effect of Reynolds number
Helical Savonius rotor with an overlap ratio of 0.0 is tested at
different Reynolds numbers corresponding to wind velocities of
4 m/s, 6 m/s, 8 m/s, 10 m/s, 12 m/s and 14 m/s. Fig. 8 shows the
225 270 315 360 variation of coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and
coefficient of static torque for a helical rotor with an aspect ratio of
0.88 and overlap ratio of 0.0 at different Reynolds numbers. Table 5
gives the maximum coefficient of power and the corresponding tip
speed ratio at different Reynolds numbers. Maximum coefficient of
power increases with the increase in the Reynolds number. Shel-
dahl et al. [7] report that for conventional Savonius rotor (at a given
rotor diameter) the delayed separation around the blades at higher
wind velocities may be responsible for the increase in the maxi-
mum coefficient of power with the increase in the Reynolds
number. This increase in the Cpmax with increase in Re was also
reported by Shankar [6] and Sheldahl et al. [7] for conventional
Savonius rotors. Tip speed ratio at which maximum coefficient of
power occurs increases with the increase in the Reynolds number
from 57,700 to 202,000. At a Reynolds number of 202,000, maxi-
mum coefficient of power of 0.2 occurs at a tip speed ratio of 0.71.
Maximum coefficient of power occurs at a tip speed ratio in the
range of 0.65–0.71. Coefficient of static torque is almost
independent of the Reynolds numbers in the range studied. This is
also reported by Kamoji et al. [4] and Hayashi et al. [5] for con-
ventional single, two and three stage conventional Savonius rotors.

Table 3 5.4. Comparison of helical Savonius rotor with the conventional

Maximum coefficient of power and the corresponding tip speed ratio for helical
Savonius rotor with and without shaft (overlap ratio ¼ 0, 0.1 and 0.16)
Savonius rotor

Overlap ratio Re ¼ 120,000 Re ¼ 150,000 Figs. 9 and 10 show the comparison of coefficient of power,
Cpmax TSR Cpmax TSR coefficient of torque, coefficient of static torque of helical Savonius
0.0 (Rotor with shaft) 0.092 0.9 0.095 1.0 rotor (overlap ratio of 0.0 and 0.1) and conventional Savonius rotor
0.0 (Rotor without shaft) 0.165 0.8 0.175 0.9 (overlap ratio of 0.15) at Reynolds numbers of 120,000 and 150,000,
0.1 (Rotor without shaft) 0.117 0.7 0.128 0.8 respectively. Open jet wind tunnel test on conventional Savonius
0.16 (Rotor without shaft) 0.11 0.8 0.116 0.8
rotor is reported to have a maximum coefficient of power [12] at an
526 M.A. Kamoji et al. / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 521–529

Table 4
Maximum and minimum coefficients of static torque and the corresponding rotor angle for helical Savonius rotor with and without shaft

Overlap ratio Re ¼ 120,000 Re ¼ 150,000

Ctsmax Location of Ctsmax Ctsmin Location of Ctsmin Ctsmax Location of Ctsmax Ctsmin Location of Ctsmin
Rotor with shaft 0.28 165 and 345 0.06 60 and 240 0.29 165 and 345 0.06 60 and 240
0.0 (rotor without shaft) 0.33 0 and 180 0.08 90 and 270 0.32 165 and 345 0.09 75 and 255
0.1 (rotor without shaft) 0.31 0 and 180 0.15 60 and 240 0.32 165 and 345 0.15 60 and 240
0.16 (rotor without shaft) 0.32 165 and 345 0.13 45 , 105 , 225 and 285 0.33 165 and 245 0.14 45 , 105 , 225 and 285

overlap ratio of 0.15. Table 6 shows the comparison of maximum This makes the helical Savonius rotor to operate at lower revolu-
coefficient of power and the corresponding tip speed ratio for he- tions per minute at a given wind speed. Lower rotational speeds
lical Savonius rotor (overlap ratio 0.0 and 0.10) and the conven- result in less vibration related problems for large helical Savonius
tional Savonius rotor (overlap ratio ¼ 0.15). The maximum rotors.
coefficient of power of helical Savonius rotor (overlap ratio ¼ 0.0) is Table 7 shows the maximum and minimum coefficients of
comparable with that of conventional Savonius rotor. The tip speed static torque and the corresponding rotor angles for helical Savo-
ratio for maximum power coefficient is lower for helical Savonius nius rotor (overlap ratio ¼ 0.0 and 0.1) and conventional Savonius
rotor than that of the conventional Savonius rotor. rotor.
Helical Savonius rotor with an overlap ratio of 0.1 is having The conventional Savonius rotor is having negative coefficient of
lower coefficient of power than the conventional Savonius rotor. static torque suggesting that it would not operate at these angles. It
is desirable to have the minimum variation in the maximum and
minimum coefficients of static torque. The minimum coefficient of
Aspect ratio = 0.88
static torque must be more than the combined torques of tare
Aspect ratio = 0.93
friction torque and the external load torque. Helical Savonius rotor
with an overlap ratio of 0.1 is having minimum variation in the
Aspect ratio = 1.17
0.20
Helical 90 deg.;
Coefficient of power

Overlap ratio = 0.0;

0.15
Re = 120000 Re = 57702 (4m/s) Re = 144256 (10m/s)
Re = 86554 (6m/s) Re = 173107 (12m/s)
0.10 Re = 115405 (8m/s) Re = 201958 (14m/s)
Coefficient of power

0.05 0.20 Helical 90 deg;

Aspect ratio = 0.88;
0.16
Overlap ratio = 0.0
0.00 0.12
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
0.08
Tip speed ratio
0.04
0.30 0.00
Helical 90 deg.; 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Coefficient of torque

0.25
Overlap ratio = 0.0; Tip speed ratio
Re = 120000
0.20
0.36
0.15
Coefficient of torque

0.32 Helical 90 deg.;

0.28 Aspect ratio = 0.88;
0.10 Overlap ratio = 0.0
0.24
0.05 0.20
0.16
0.00 0.12
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 0.08
0.04
Tip speed ratio 0.00
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
0.40 Tip speed ratio
Coefficient of static torque

0.35 Helical 90 deg.;

Overlap ratio = 0.0;
0.30
Coefficient of static torque

Re = 120000 0.40
0.25 Helical 90 deg.;
0.32 Aspect ratio = 0.88;
0.20
0.24 Overlap ratio = 0.0
0.15
0.16
0.10
0.05 0.08

0.00 0.00
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 -0.08
Rotor angle (deg.) 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
Rotor angle (degree)
Fig. 7. Variation of coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and coefficient of static
torque for helical rotor with aspect ratios of 0.88, 0.93 and 1.17 at a Reynolds number of Fig. 8. Variation of coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and coefficient of static
120,000. torque for helical Savonius rotor at different Reynolds numbers (wind velocities).
 M.A. Kamoji et al. / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 521–529 527

Table 5
Helical 90 deg.; Aspect ratio = 0.88; Overlap ratio = 0.0
Variation of coefficient of power with tip speed ratio for a helical Savonius rotor with
an overlap ratio of 0.0
Helical 90 deg.; Aspect ratio = 0.96; Overlap ratio = 0.10
Conventional Savonius; Aspect ratio = 1.0; Overlap ratio = 0.15
Reynolds Corresponding wind Cpmax TSR at which
0.20
number velocities (m/s) maximum Cp occurs

Coefficient of power
0.16 Re = 150000;
57,700 4 0.11 0.70
Without shaft
86,600 6 0.15 0.72
0.12
115,500 8 0.16 0.65
144,000 10 0.17 0.66 0.08
173,000 12 0.19 0.72
202,000 14 0.20 0.71 0.04

0.00
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
Tip speed ratio
coefficient static torque and the minimum torque coefficient is
higher among the rotors studied.
0.32

Coefficient of torque
0.28
5.5. Correlations for performance of helical Savonius rotors 0.24
0.20
0.16
Helical Savonius rotor with an aspect ratio of 0.88 and overlap 0.12
ratio of 0.0 is found to have maximum coefficient of power among 0.08 Re = 150000
the helical Savonius rotors tested in this study. Variation of co- 0.04 Without shaft
efficient of torque for a single stage Savonius rotor at different 0.00
Reynolds numbers (86,600, 100,000, 115,400, 120,000, 144,300, 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
173,100 and 202,000) is shown in Fig. 11. These curves almost Tip speed ratio
merge into a single curve for Ct/Re0.3 as shown in Fig. 12.
Coefficient of static torque

0.40
0.32
Helical 90 deg.; Aspect ratio = 0.88; Overlap ratio = 0.0 0.24
Helical 90 deg.; Aspect ratio = 0.96; Overlap ratio = 0.10 0.16
Conventional Savonius; Aspect ratio = 1.0; Overlap ratio = 0.15 0.08
0.20 0.00
Re = 150000;
Coefficient of power

Re = 120000; -0.08 Without shaft

0.16
Without shaft
-0.16
0.12 0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360
Rotor angle (degree)
0.08
Fig. 10. Variation of coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and coefficient of static
0.04
torque for helical Savonius rotors and conventional Savonius rotors at Reynolds
0.00 number of 150,000.
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Tip speed ratio Correlation equations are linear and are fitted upto tip speed ratios
of 0.6. The parameter Ct/Re0.3 computed using the correlation
0.32 compares with the experimental results within 6%. Following is
Coefficient of torque

0.28 the correlation for helical Savonius rotor with an aspect ratio of 0.88
0.24 and overlap ratio of 0.0 for Reynolds number ranging from 86,600
0.20 to 202,000.
0.16
0.12
Ct
0.08 Re = 120000 ¼ 0:0128  TSR þ 0:0162 (8)
0.04 Without shaft Re0:3
0.00
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 Using the correlation equation for helical Savonius rotor, per-
Tip speed ratio formance curves for coefficient of power and coefficient of torque
are shown in Figs. 13 and 14. Coefficient of power and coefficient of
torque computed from the developed correlations compare with
Coefficient of static torque

0.40 the experimental results within 5%.

0.32
0.24
0.16 Table 6
Comparison of maximum coefficients of power of helical Savonius rotor (overlap
0.08
ratios 0.0 and 0.1) with conventional Savonius rotor (overlap ratio ¼ 0.15)
0.00
Re = 120000; Reynolds number Helical Savonius; Helical Savonius; Conventional
-0.08
Without shaft overlap ratio ¼ 0.0; overlap ratio ¼ 0.1; Savonius; overlap
-0.16
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360 aspect ratio ¼ 0.88 aspect ratio ¼ 0.96 ratio ¼ 0.15; aspect
ratio ¼ 1.0
Rotor angle (degree)
Cpmax TSR Cpmax TSR Cpmax TSR
Fig. 9. Variation of coefficient of power, coefficient of torque and coefficient of static
Re ¼ 120000 0.17 0.70 0.12 0.70 0.17 0.78
torque for helical Savonius rotors and conventional Savonius rotors at Reynolds
Re ¼ 150000 0.17 0.65 0.13 0.77 0.18 0.76
number of 120,000.
528 M.A. Kamoji et al. / Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 521–529

Table 7
Maximum and minimum coefficients of static torque and the corresponding rotor angle for helical Savonius rotor (overlap ratio 0.0 and 0.1) and conventional Savonius rotor
(overlap ratio 0.15)

Overlap ratio Re ¼ 120,000 Re ¼ 150,000

Ctsmax Location of Ctsmax Ctsmin Location of Ctsmin Ctsmax Location of Ctsmax Ctsmin Location of Ctsmin
0.0 (Helical rotor without shaft) 0.33 0 and 180 0.08 90 and 270 0.32 165 and 345 0.09 75 and 255
0.1 (Helical rotor without shaft) 0.31 0 and 180 0.15 60 and 240 0.32 165 and 345 0.15 60 and 240
0.15 (Conventional Savonius) 0.36 45 and 225 0.09 150 and 330 0.37 45 and 225 0.05 165 and 345

Coefficient of torque at different Reynolds number Helical Savonius rotor

0.35
0.35
Aspect ratio = 0.88;
Helical Savonius rotor; 0.30 Overlap ratio = 0.0
0.30

Coefficient of torque
Aspect ratio = 0.88;
Coefficient of torque

Overlap ratio = 0.0 0.25

0.25
0.20
0.20
0.15
0.15
0.10
0.10
Experimental results; Re = 202000
0.05
0.05 Correlation results; Re = 202000
0.00
0.00 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
Tip speed ratio
Tip speed ratio
Fig. 14. Comparison of coefficient of torque for experimental and correlation results
Fig. 11. Variation of Ct with TSR at different Reynolds numbers from 86,600 to 202,000 for helical Savonious rotor at Reynolds numbers of 144,300, 173,100 and 202,000.
for helical Savonius rotor.

6. Conclusions

Present experimental results Helical Savonius rotors having a twist of 90 are tested in an
Correlation; Ct0.3 = -0.0128 x TSR + 0.0162 open jet wind tunnel for overlap ratios of 0.0, 0.1 and 0.16. Tests are
Re
0.009 carried out to study the influence of overlap ratio, aspect ratio and
0.008 Helical Savonius rotor; Reynolds numbers on the performance of helical Savonius rotors.
+ 6% Aspect ratio = 0.88; These results are compared with the results of the conventional
0.007 Overlap ratio = 0.0
Savonius rotor available in the literature. The conclusions that may
0.006 - 6%
be drawn from this study are as follows.
0.005
Re0.3
Ct

0.004
1. Helical Savonius rotor with shaft has the lowest coefficient of
0.003 power of 0.09 at a TSR of 0.9.
0.002 2. Helical Savonius rotor without shaft for an overlap ratio of zero
0.001 has maximum coefficient of power of around 0.174 at a Rey-
0.000 nolds number of 150,000 compared with the overlap ratios of
0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
0.1 and 0.16.
Tip speed ratio
3. Helical Savonius rotor with a lower aspect ratio of 0.88 shows
Fig. 12. Correlation curve for helical Savonius rotor for different Reynolds numbers a higher performance than rotors with an aspect ratio of 0.93
from 86,600 to 202,000. and 1.17.
4. Coefficient of power of helical Savonius rotor without shaft
with an overlap ratio of 0.0 is almost same as that of conven-
tional Savonius rotor.
Helical Savonius rotor 5. Helical Savonius rotor is sensitive to the Reynolds number.
0.21 Increase in the Reynolds number increases the maximum
Aspect ratio = 0.88; coefficient of power of the rotor.
0.18
Overlap ratio = 0.0 6. The static torque coefficients at all the rotor angles for all helical
Coefficient of power

0.15 Savonius rotors tested in this study are positive. However, for
0.12 conventional Savonius rotor, there are several rotor angles at
which static torque coefficient is negative.
0.09
7. Correlation equation for a helical Savonius rotor with aspect
0.06 ratio of 0.88 and overlap ratio of zero is developed for Reynolds
0.03 Experimental results; Re = 202000 numbers ranging from 86,600 to 202,000.
Correlation results; Re = 202000
0.00
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 References
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