Darrieus wind turbine analysis - Support arm drag loss Page 1 of 3

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Supporting arms and clamps drag losses

The loss caused by the aerodynamics drag force on the supporting arms was estimated
with the following drastic assumptions. First, the spanwise (directed along the flat plates
longitudinal axis) velocity component was neglected (refer figure below), so the wind was
assumed to hit the flat plates at normal direction only. The spanwise wind component
decreases with increasing tip speed ratio, so the accuracy of this assumption increases
with tsr. Without this assumption, numerical integration will be required because the drag
coefficient data is not constant but depends on the angle of wind relative velocity. The drag
coefficients data is only available for condition where the wind is directed normal to the
plates, so other assumptions might be needed. Second, the induced velocity was
neglected. This resulted in higher than actual velocity, so a higher drag force was
estimated.

Wind distribution along the support arms with spanwise velocity neglected

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The drag loss by the clamps (bolt joints between airfoils and flat plates) was estimated
using the above same method. A simple geometry and ‘equivalent’ size were selected to
replace the complex geometry of the actual clamps for obtaining drag data. Result can be
very much affected by this subjective selection.

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Last updated at November 6, 2002
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