Energy 74 (2014) 506e517

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Numerical simulation and experimental validation of the turbulent

flow around a small incurved Savonius wind rotor
Zied Driss*, Olfa Mlayeh, Dorra Driss, Makram Maaloul, Mohamed Salah Abid
Laboratory of Electro-Mechanic Systems (LASEM), National School of Engineers of Sfax (ENIS), Univrsity of Sfax, B.P. 1173, Km 3.5 Soukra, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia

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

Article history: In this paper, numerical simulation and experimental validation were carried out to study the turbulent
Received 26 September 2013 flow around a small incurved Savonius wind rotor. The software “SolidWorks Flow Simulation” has been
Received in revised form used to present the local characteristics in different transverse and longitudinal planes. The numerical
29 June 2014
model considered is based on the resolution of the NaviereStokes equations in conjunction with the
Accepted 6 July 2014
standard k-ε turbulence model. These equations were solved by a finite volume discretization method.
Available online 6 August 2014
Experimental results are conducted on an open wind tunnel equipped by a small incurved Savonius wind
rotor to validate the numerical method. Use of this knowledge will assist the design of packaged in-
Keywords:
Incurved Savonius rotor
stallations of incurved Savonius wind rotor.
Wind tunnel © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Turbulent flow
Aerodynamic structure
CFD

1. Introduction tunnel tests to assess the aerodynamic performance of single, two

The wind is an inexhaustible resource that can provide signif-
icant quantities of energy to support a country's needs. Since
earliest recorded history, man has been harnessing the energy of
the wind. Savonius wind rotor that is composed of two vertical
half cylinders is considered to be a kind of wind rotor. Power
performance of Savonius wind rotor (Cp ¼ 15%) is rather low when
compared with that of the wind rotors with a horizontal axis
(Cp ¼ 45%) and Darrieus-type wind rotor with a vertical axis
(Cp ¼ 35%) [1e2]. However, Savonius wind rotor has many ad-
vantages over others in that its constructions are simpler and
cheaper; it is independent of the wind direction and has a good
starting torque at lower wind speeds [3e4]. Therefore, available in
the literature are a lot of studies that have been conducted to
increase the performance of a Savonius wind rotor. For example,
Grinspan et al. [5] developed a new blade shape with a twist for
the Savonius rotor. They obtained a maximum power coefficient of
0.5 for its model. Saha and Rajkumar [6] performed work on twist
bladed metallic Savonius rotor and compared the performance
with conventional semi-circular blades having no twist. They ob-
tained an efficiency of 0.14. Their rotor also produced good starting
torque and larger rotational speeds. Saha et al. [7] conducted wind
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ216 74 274 409; fax: þ216 74 275 595.
E-mail addresses: Zied.Driss@enis.rnu.tn, Zied_Driss@yahoo.fr (Z. Driss).
and three-stage Savonius rotor systems. Both semi-circular and
twisted blades have been used. A family of rotor systems has been
manufactured with identical stage aspect ratio keeping the iden-
tical projected area of each rotor. Experiments were carried out to
optimize the different parameters like number of stages, number
of blades and geometry of the blade. Aldos [8] studied power
augmentation of Savonius rotor by allowing the rotor blades to
swing back when on the upwind side. He reported a power
augmentation of the order of 11.25% with the increase in Cp from
0.015 to 0.17. He further concluded that different basic rotor
configuration might produce different power augmentation. Sab-
zevari [9] examined the effects of several ducting, concentrators
and diffusers on the performance improvements of a split S
Savonius rotor. A circularly ducted Savonius rotor equipped with a
number of identical wind concentrators and diffusers along the
periphery of circular housing produced efficiency of the order of
40%. In order to eliminate the low aerodynamic performance of
Savonius wind rotors, Mohamed et al. [10] studied several shapes
of obstacles and deflectors placed in front of two and three blade
Savonius turbine. A rounded deflector structure was placed in
front of two counter-rotating turbines. Shigetomi et al. [11]
measured the flow field around two Savonius turbines in close
configurations using particle image velocimetry. The phase-
averaged flow fields with respect to the rotation angle of the
turbines revealed two types of powereimprovement interactions.
One comes from the Magnus effect that bends the main stream

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.07.016
0360-5442/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517
Fig. 1. Aerodynamic test bench.
behind the turbine to provide additional rotation of the down-
stream turbine. The other is obtained from the periodic coupling
of local flow between the two turbines, which is associated with
vortex shedding and cyclic pressure fluctuations. Akwa et al. [12]
discussed the influence of the buckets overlap ratio of a Savo-
nius wind rotor on the averaged moment and power coefficients,
over complete cycles of operation. The influence of the buckets
overlap ratio on the moment and power coefficients is checked by
changing the geometry of the rotor. The values of the moment and
power coefficients obtained as a function of tip speed ratio and the
buckets overlap of the rotor indicates that the maximum device
performance occurs for buckets overlap ratios with values close to
0.15. Kamoji et al. [13] compared the helical Savonius rotor with
the conventional Savonius rotor. The results indicate that the he-
lical Savonius rotors have positive coefficient of static torque.
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. Indeed,
conventional Savonius rotors have high coefficient of static torque
at certain rotor angles and a negative coefficient of static torque
from 135 to 165 and from 315 to 345 in one cycle of 360 .
D'Alessandro et al. [14] developed a mathematical model of the
interaction between the flow field and the rotor blades. The aim of
507
their research was to gain an insight into the complex flow field
developed around a Savonius wind rotor and to evaluate its per-
formance. They validated the model by comparing it with data
obtained at EWT (Environmental Wind Tunnel) laboratory. Irabu
and Roy [15] improved and adjusted the output power of Savonius
rotor under various wind power and suggests the method of
prevention the rotor from strong wind disaster. In this study, as
the appropriate device to achieve the purpose of it, a guide-box
tunnel was employed. The guide-box tunnel is like a rectangular
box as wind passage in which a test rotor is included. At first, the
experiment was conducted to find the adequate configuration
which would provide the best relative performance. Mohamed
et al. [16] employed an optimization process in order to increase
the tangential force induced by a monoplane Wells turbine using
symmetric airfoil blades. The automatic optimization procedure is
carried out by coupling an in-house optimization library (OPAL
(OPtimization ALgorithms)) with an industrial CFD (Computa-
tional Fluid Dynamics) code (ANSYS-Fluent). This multi-objective
optimization relying on Evolutionary Algorithms takes into ac-
count both tangential force coefficient and turbine efficiency.
Detailed comparisons are presented between the optimal design
and the classical Wells turbine using symmetric airfoils, demon-
strating the superiority of the proposed solution. Castelli et al. [17]
508 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517
Fig. 2. Geometrical parameters of the incurved Savonius rotor.
presented a CFD model for the evaluation of energy performance
and aerodynamic forces acting on a straight-bladed vertical-axis
Darrieus wind turbine. The basic principles which are currently
applied to BE-M theory for rotor performance prediction are
transferred to the CFD code, allowing the correlation between flow
geometric characteristics (such as blade angles of attack) and
dynamic quantities (such as rotor torque and blade tangential and
normal forces). The model is proposed as a powerful design and
optimization tool for the development of new rotor architectures
for which test data is not available. Chen et al. [18] developed a
novel vertical-axis water turbine for hydropower harness inside
water pipelines when extra water head can be consumed. The
small hydro power generated can be used for power supply to the
data collection systems in underground and congested locations or
to maintenance work at remote locations. The device was devel-
oped through CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamic) simulation and
lab tests. The results indicate that the simulation outcomes can
offer a good guidance for the rotor design even though the dif-
ference between the simulation and experimental results is fairly
large. The results also show that the rotor with a hollow structure
combined with an eye-shaped slanted block in a pipeline could
generate the maximum power as compared with other types of
vertical-axis rotors. Mohamed and Shaaban [19] proposed to
improve the aerodynamic efficiency of Wells turbines by opti-
mizing the blade pitch angle. Two different airfoil geometries are
numerically investigated. Optimization results show that self pitch
control of Wells turbines can substantially improve the turbine
efficiency while slightly delaying the turbine starting point. The
optimum blade pitch angle depends on airfoil geometry and tur-
bine solidity. Mohamed [20] introduced the main problem of the
self-stating capability of Darrieus turbine and investigates some
techniques to improve this drawback. The effect of the turbine
solidity and the usage of hybrid system between drag and lift
types have been investigated numerically using CFD (Computa-
tional Fluid Dynamics) technique and experimentally. A consid-
erable improvement of the H-rotor Darrieus turbine self-starting
capability can be obtained by these techniques. Davila-Vilchis and
Mishra [21] evaluated the performance of a horizontal hydroki-
netic energy system with variable-pitch blades using an axial-flux
generator. Particularly, very simple sheet blades have been used to
keep system cost down. The evaluation is based on maximum
power extraction and energy conversion efficiency normalized by
system cost through a simpler electro-mechanical design for the
hydrokinetic system. Experimental results have demonstrated that
the proposed prototype possesses higher efficiency with reduced
energy losses and manufacturing costs. It represents a cost-
competitive alternative energy for power supply for civilian ap-
plications in remote areas or an option for expeditionary appli-
cations. Mohamed [22] studied numerically and aerodynamically
Darrieus rotor to obtain the generated noise from blades. Time-
accurate solutions can be obtained from URANS (unsteady Rey-
nolds averaged NaviereStokes) equations. Blade shape, tip speed
ratio and solidity effects have been studied in this work. The re-
sults indicated that the higher solidity and higher tip speed ratio
rotors are more noisy than the normal turbines. Akwa et al. [23]
presented a review on the performance of Savonius wind tur-
bines. Particularly, numerous adaptations for this device were
proposed. The variety of possible configurations of the rotor is
another advantage in using such machine. Each different
arrangement of Savonius rotor affects its performance. Savonius
rotor performance is affected by operational conditions, geometric
and air flow parameters. The range of reported values for
maximum averaged power coefficient includes values around
0.05e0.30 for most settings. Performance gains of up to 50% for tip
speed ratio of maximum averaged power coefficient are also re-
ported with the use of stators.
 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517
Fig. 3. Computational domain.
On the bases of these anterior studies, we have been interested
in the bucket shape effect of a non-conventional Savonius rotor. The
originality and the complexity of the presented manuscript consist
on investigating several geometrical parameters. Here, we propose
Fig. 4. 3D view of different dimensions of mesh cells.
509
using the bucket arc angle j and other characteristic lengths
nominated c, q, p, s, l and e to design the new shape of the rotor
termed incurved Savonius rotor. Furthermore, it is capital to note
that the fixing method of the buckets on the rotor axis has never
being used by any anterior study. Hence, the overall objective of this
present work was the establishment of a numerical simulation of
the turbulent flow around the designed rotor. Moreover, we have
developed an experimental investigation using a wind tunnel to
confirm the computer method validity.
2. Experimental device
The rotor at hand is an incurved Savonius rotor made on Plex-
iglas. Fig. 1 shows this rotor placed in the test vein of an open-
circuit wind tunnel. The total length of the wind tunnel is
3857 mm. The test vein is of 400 mm of width, 800 mm of length
and 400 mm of height. This tunnel is a fairly simple device and it
consists of five compartments: a settling chamber, a collector, a test
vein, a diffuser and a drive section. A vacuum cleaner with variable
speed draws the air through the test vein made on Plexiglas. The
purpose of the settling chamber is to straighten the airflow. The
honeycomb placed at the settling chamber of this room provides a
uniform airflow in the test vein. The collector takes a large volume
510 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517
Fig. 5. Different dimensions of mesh cells in the plane defined by x ¼ 0.
of low-velocity air and reduces it into a small volume of high-
velocity air without creating turbulence. The diffuser slows the
speed of airflow in the wind tunnel. The drive section provides the
force that causes the air to move through the wind tunnel. In an
open tunnel, the air flows in one end of the tunnel and out the
other. The overall design creates high-speed, low-turbulence
airflow through the test vein [24e27]. Fig. 2 illustrates the
geometrical parameters of the incurved Savonius wind rotor. This
rotor is constituted by two half incurved buckets characterized by
the height H ¼ 300 mm, the diameter c ¼ 2q ¼ 100 mm and the
bucket arc angle j ¼ 120 . These buckets are collected on a com-
mon axis, with a shaft diameter equal to ds ¼ 10 mm, and they are
fixed within screws to make an angle equal to 180 . Therefore, the
position between the two buckets is defined by the lengths
designed by s ¼ 9 mm and p ¼ 15 mm.
3. Numerical model
Like other CFD (computational fluid dynamic) codes, “Solid-
works Flow simulation” combines a high level of functionality and
accuracy with ease-of-use. This code is based on solving
NaviereStokes equations with a finite volume discretization
method. The technique consists in dividing the computational
domain into elementary volumes around each node in the grid; it
ensures continuity of flow between nodes. The spatial discretiza-
tion is obtained by following a procedure for tetrahedral inter-
polation scheme. As for the temporal discretization, the implicit
formulation is adopted. The transport equation is integrated over
the control volume [28e31]. The original fluid-flow simulation
tool developed exclusively for SolidWorks users, “Solidworks Flow
simulation” gives insight into designs related to fluid flow, heat
transfer, and forces on immersed or surrounding components. In
this paper, the software “Solidworks Flow simulation” has been
used to study the turbulent flow around a small incurved Savonius
wind rotor.
3.1. Mathematical formulation
This paragraph deals with the mathematical equations which
are based on this modeling. The mathematical formulation based
on the equations binding the various flow parameters. The vast
majority of fluid flows encountered in aerodynamics are turbulent.
The equations that govern the movement of fluids were written
for the first time by Claude Navier in 1823. They are often called
the NaviereStokes equations. The equations governing the flow of
air with the necessary simplifications are obtained from the con-
tinuity equation, the equation of momentum, the transport
equation of turbulent kinetic energy k and the transport equation
of dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy ε. Several methods
are available for including turbulence in the NaviereStokes
equations. Most of these involve a process of time-averaging the
conservation equations. When turbulence is included, the trans-
ported quantity is assumed to be the sum of an equilibrium and a
fluctuating component. The only term that remains positive defi-
nite is one containing the product of two fluctuating terms
[28e31].
 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517 511

Fig. 6. Different dimensions of mesh cells in the plane defined by y ¼ 0.

The continuity equation is: !

0 0 vui vuj 2
rui uj ¼ mt þ  rkdij (3)
vr vðrui Þ vxj vxi 3
þ ¼0 (1)
vt vxi
The new terms involving are called the Reynolds stresses. Rey-
The momentum equation is: nolds stresses contribute new unknowns to the equations, and
need to be related to the other variables. The Boussinesq hypothesis

 " !# makes the assumption that the Reynolds stresses can be expressed
vðrui Þ v rui uj vP v vuj vuj 2 vui in terms of mean velocity gradients.
þ ¼ þ m þ  dij
vt vxj vxi vxj vxj vxi 3 vxi Closing the system of equations in this case is necessary. To solve
  these equations can be presented using several turbulence models
0 0
v  r ui uj such as k-ε model, k-omega model and Reynolds Stress model also
þ þ Fi (2) known as RSM (Reynolds Stress model). In the present work, we
vxj
have used the k-ε turbulence model. In fact, this model has been
0 0
They appear a number of additional unknown ðrui uj Þ defined used in different anterior works and satisfactory results were ob-
by: tained [4,26e31]. In the future, we propose to use other CFD codes
and to develop numerical simulations to study the effect of the
turbulence model on the numerical results. Particularly, we can use
Table 1 the k-omega model.
Mesh selection criterium.
The statement of the hypothesis below shows the introduction
Case study Cells number Resolution Velocity V (m s1) of a new constant that is dimensionally equivalent to viscosity. The
time (h:min:s) new constant is the turbulent viscosity yt. The hypothesis also in-
Numerical Experimental
troduces another term involving a new variable k, the turbulent
Basic mesh 1 1348 cells 0:0:31 10.27 6.2
2 3358 cells 0:0:53 7.37 kinetic energy. The turbulent viscosity yt is derived from both k and
3 5635 cells 0:1:46 7.63 ε, and involves a constant taken from experimental data. The above
4 10310 cells 0:3:43 8.34 models retain the turbulent viscosity form of the standard k-ε and
5 37075 cells 0:38:36 6.48 thus cannot predict effect depending on the nonlinearity of the
6 193701 cells 3:26:56 6.21
stressestrain relationship. To summarize the solution process for
512 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517

means that at this opening the fluid exits the model to an area of
static atmospheric pressure. The inlet velocity value (V ¼ 3 m s1)
corresponds to the air velocity measured in the settling chamber
within a hot wire anemometry AM-4204 model. In these condi-
tions, the frequency of the speed variator is equal to f ¼ 50 Hz.
Without wind rotor, a uniform distribution of the velocity fields
(V ¼ 12.7 m s1) has been observed in the test section [26]. How-
ever, this distribution is affected by the wind rotor and the uniform
distribution has been observed only on the test section inlet.

4. Meshing

This section deals with the various meshing capabilities of flow

simulation permitting a better adjustment of the computational
mesh to the problem at hand. Although the automatically gener-
ated mesh has been usually appropriate, intricate problems with
thin and small, but important, geometrical and physical features
can result in extremely high number of cells, which the computer
memory is too small. In such cases, flow simulation options permit
a manual adjustment of the computational mesh to the solved
problem's features.

4.1. Basic mesh

Flow Simulation calculates the default minimum gap size using

information about the faces where boundary conditions and goals
are specified. Thus, it is recommended to set all conditions before
starting to analyze the mesh. The Minimum gap size is a parameter
governing the computational mesh, so that a certain number of
Fig. 7. Velocity profiles.
cells per the specified gap should be generated. To satisfy this
condition, the corresponding parameters governing the mesh are
the k-ε model, transport equations are solved for the turbulent ki-
set by flow simulation. These parameters are applied to the whole
netic energy k and the dissipation rate of the turbulent kinetic
computational domain, resolving all its features of the same geo-
energy ε. The solutions for k and ε are used to compute the tur-
metric characteristics. Since the minimum gap size value influences
bulent viscosity yt. Using these results, the Reynolds stresses can be
the mesh in the entire computational domain, the large aspect ratio
computed for substitution into the momentum equations. Once the
between the model and the minimum gap size value will produce a
momentum equations have been solved, the new velocity compo-
non-optimal mesh: not only will all small gaps be resolved, but
nents are used to update the turbulence generation term and the
there will also be many small cells in places where they are not
process is repeated.
necessary. As a result, an extremely large mesh will be produced,
In our case, the k-ε model has been used. The transport equation
which may result in overly large computer memory requirements
of the turbulent kinetic energy k is written as follows:
exceeding the computers' available resources. Moreover, if the
"  # aspect ratio between the model and the minimum gap size is more
vðrkÞ vðrui kÞ v mt vk than 1000, flow simulation may not adequately resolve such
þ ¼ mþ þ Gk  rε (4)
vt vxi vxj sk vxj models with the automatically generated mesh. The mesh is named
The transport equation of the dissipation rate of the turbulent
kinetic energy ε is written as follows:
"  #
vðrεÞ vðrui εÞ v mt vε ε ε2
þ ¼ mþ þ C1ε Gk  C2ε r (5)
vt vxi vxj sε vxj k k

The turbulent viscosity is defined by:

k2
mt ¼ rCm (6)
ε

3.2. Boundary conditions

The computational domain is shown in Fig. 3. It is defined by the

interior volume of the wind tunnel blocked by two planes: the first
one is in the tranquillization chamber entry and the second one is in
the exit of the diffuser. A boundary condition is required anywhere
fluid enters or exits the system and can be set as a pressure and
velocity. For the inlet velocity, we take as a value V ¼ 3 m s1, and
for the outlet pressure a value of p ¼ 101325 Pa is considered which Fig. 8. Visualization planes.
 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517
Fig. 9. Distribution of the velocity field in the longitudinal planes.
Initial since it is the mesh the calculation starts from and it could be
further refined during the calculation if the solution-adaptive
meshing is enabled. The initial mesh is constructed from the
basic mesh by refining the basic mesh cells in accordance with the
specified mesh settings. The Basic mesh is formed by dividing the
computational domain into slices by parallel planes which are
orthogonal to the global coordinate system's axes. The basic mesh
in many respects governs the generated computational mesh. The
proper basic mesh is necessary for the most optimal mesh. So, we
can control the basic mesh in several ways by changing the number
of the basic mesh cells along the x, y and z axes, by shifting or
inserting basic mesh planes and stretching or contracting the basic
mesh cells locally by changing the relative distance between the
basic mesh planes.
4.2. Meshing optimization and experimental validation
This application has been focused on the mesh resolution's in-
fluence on flow simulation results. In fact, the size of the mesh has
been changed then the obtained results have been compared to the
experimental velocity values collected from the test section of the
wind tunnel. In particular, six meshes have been studied. The first
case to be treated corresponds to a cell of 40 cm (Fig. 4a). The second
case corresponds to a cell of 10 cm (Fig. 4b). The third case corre-
sponds to a cell of 5 cm (Fig. 4c). The fourth case corresponds to a cell
of 2 cm (Fig. 4d). The fifth case corresponds to a cell of 0.5 cm
(Fig. 4e). The latter one corresponds to a cell of 0.1 cm (Fig. 4f). In all
these cases, the number of cells is respectively equal to 1348, 3358,
5635, 10310, 37075 and 193701; which corresponds to a coarse mesh
in the first case and a refined mesh in the sixth case.
Figs. 5 and 6 show the meshing on two transverse planes
defined by x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm. Table 1 presents the resolution
Fig. 10. Distribution of the total pressure in the longitudinal planes.
513
time and the velocity value measured in the test section for the
treated cases. According to these results, it's clear that the velocity
value obtained for the fifth case is the closest to the experimentally
measured value for the point referred by x ¼ 0 mm, y ¼ 100 mm
and z ¼ 150 mm. Also, it has been noted that the resolution time
increases with the decrease of the size of mesh cells.
Fig. 7 shows different profiles of the average velocity for the
different cells size. It presents the superposition of the numerical
results gathered from the CFD code and the experimental results
taken by the anemometer. The considered direction is situated in
the downstream of the rotor in the intersection of planes defined by
y ¼ 100 mm and z ¼ 150 mm.
The different velocity profiles seem to have the same appear-
ance but the velocity values depends on the cell size. Indeed the
greater the cell size gets the more the gap between numerical and
experimental results is large. The best result regarding precision
and time is found to be a cell of 5 mm size. This choice leads to a
better result with regards to the precision and the resolution time.
5. Numerical results
As presented in Fig. 8, two longitudinal planes, defined by
x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm, are considered to visualize the velocity
field, the total pressure, the dynamic pressure, the turbulent kinetic
energy, the turbulent dissipation rate, the turbulent viscosity and
the vorticity.
5.1. Velocity field
Fig. 9 presents the distribution of the velocity field on the lon-
gitudinal planes defined by x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm. According to
these results, it has been noted that the velocity is weak in the inlet
514 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517

Fig. 11. Distribution of the dynamic pressure in the longitudinal planes.

Fig. 12. Distribution of the turbulent kinetic energy in the longitudinal planes.

of the collector. It is indeed governed by the boundary condition
value of the inlet velocity which is equal to V ¼ 3 m s1. In this
region, the velocity field is found to be uniform and increases
progressively downstream of the collector. At the test vein, an
important increase of the velocity value has been noted due to the
reduction of the tunnel section that causes the throttling of the
flow. While the upstream of the rotor is characterized by the high
velocity, a brutal drop is located in the concave surface of the two
buckets. Downstream of the rotor, the velocity value keeps
increasing till the out of the test section. Then, a sharp decrease has
been noted through the diffuser where the minimum velocity
values are recorded in the lateral walls of the diffuser. The
maximum velocity values are located in the convex surface of the
two buckets according to the distribution shown on the y ¼ 0 mm
plane. The velocity fields on the longitudinal plane, defined by
y ¼ 0 mm, show a symmetric distribution. Also, a deceleration of
the velocity field around the shaft and in the concave surface of the
buckets has been observed. Another zone is located in the top and
the left wall of the test vein which corresponds to zone around the
advancing bucket. This explains the acceleration of the velocity in
the buckets exterior surface.
5.2. Total pressure
Fig. 10 presents the distribution of the total pressure on the
longitudinal planes defined by x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm. While
examining these results, it can easily be noted that the total pres-
sure is on its maximum in the intake and is globally uniform in the
collector and the upstream of the rotor in the test vein. A brutal
drop of the total pressure has been noted in the concave surface of

Fig. 13. Distribution of the dissipation rate of the turbulent kinetic energy in the longitudinal planes.
 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517
Fig. 14. Distribution of the turbulent viscosity in the longitudinal planes.
the rotor, downstream of the advancing bucket and around the axe
of the rotor. The distribution of the total pressure in the longitu-
dinal planes defined by x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm shows that the
minimum pressure values are located in the downstream of the
concave surface of the returning bucket, the convex surface of the
advancing bucket and the extremities of the rotor axe. Downstream
of the rotor, the total pressure starts to increase gradually in the
way out of the test vein and keeps increasing through the diffuser.
The distribution in the y ¼ 0 mm shows a wake formed in the
downstream of the rotor. The transverse planes show the formation
of the minimum pressure value zone around the rotor axe, in the
concave surface of the buckets and in the cotes of the test section.
Around the rotor, the total pressure is found to be relatively high
and is increasing in the way out of the test vein.
5.3. Dynamic pressure
Fig. 11 presents the distribution of the dynamic pressure on the
longitudinal planes defined by x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm. The dy-
namic pressure is found to be weak in the collector inlet and in-
creases gradually through the collector as long as the tunnel section
gets smaller. When it gets to the test section, the dynamic pressure
keeps increasing in the upstream of the rotor and around it. It
reaches its maximum in the convex surface of both the advancing
and returning buckets. A zone of minimum dynamic pressure is
recorded in the concave surface of the rotor buckets and around the
shaft. Downstream of the rotor, the dynamic pressure remains
relatively low in the test section and through the diffuser. The
distribution of the dynamic pressure in the transverse planes
shows a minimum zone in the concave surface of the buckets and
around the rotor axe.
Fig. 15. Distribution of the vorticity in the longitudinal planes.
515
5.4. Turbulent kinetic energy
Fig. 12 presents the distribution of the turbulent kinetic energy
on the longitudinal planes defined by x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm.
From these results, it is clear that the turbulent kinetic energy is
found to be very weak in the wind tunnel except in the
area surrounding the rotor. The distribution of the turbulent kinetic
energy shows the increase of the energy in the interior zone of the
rotor. The maximum value of the turbulent kinetic energy is
recorded along the endplates especially from the interior surface as
shown in the distribution in the longitudinal plane defined
by x ¼ 0 mm. The distribution in the second longitudinal
plane defined by y ¼ 0 mm shows another wake characterized
by the maximum value in the convex surface of the advancing
bucket.
5.5. Dissipation rate of the turbulent kinetic energy
Fig. 13 presents the distribution of the dissipation rate of the
turbulent kinetic energy on the longitudinal planes defined by
x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm. From these results a first view shows that
the dissipation rate of the turbulent kinetic energy is rather weak in
the whole wind tunnel. It shows an important increase around the
rotor's buckets and axe. The wake defined by the maximum dissi-
pation rate of the turbulent kinetic energy is found in the leading
surface of the rotor and around the rotor's axe while it decreases in
the middle of the bucket. The distribution of the turbulent dissi-
pation rate in the transverse planes shows that a brutal increase of
the dissipation rate is more important in the superior and inferior
parts of the buckets.
516 Z. Driss et al. / Energy 74 (2014) 506e517

5.6. Turbulent viscosity c bucket diameter, m

D rotor diameter, m
Fig. 14 presents the distribution of the turbulent viscosity on the ds shaft diameter, m
longitudinal planes defined by x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm. These e bucket thickness, m
results show that the viscosity is weak but uniform in the collector. Fi Force components, N
It increases when leaving the collector and getting to the test vein Gk production term of turbulence, kg m1 s3
upstream of the rotor. A rapid decrease is observed around and H bucket height, W m3
downstream of the rotor. The maximum viscosity value in the test k turbulent kinetic energy, J kg1
section is recorded in the concave surface of the buckets. The vis- l length, m
cosity is found to be weak in the interior of the diffuser but it in- p straight edge, m
creases considerably in the diffuser's walls. The maximum viscosity P pressure, Pa
values are situated in the diffuser's outlet. In the test section, the q radius of circular arc, m
viscosity is almost weak and it is relatively high around the buckets, Re Reynolds number
the shaft and away of the rotor. This explains the formation of a s bucket length, m
wake characterized by the maximum value in the buckets exterior t time, s
surface. ui velocity components, m s1
fluctuating velocity components, m s1
0
ui
5.7. Vorticity V magnitude velocity, m s1
xi Cartesian coordinate, m
Fig. 15 presents the distribution of the vorticity on the longitu- x Cartesian coordinate, m
dinal planes defined by x ¼ 0 mm and y ¼ 0 mm. According to these y Cartesian coordinate, m
results, the vorticity is found to be near to zero almost everywhere z Cartesian coordinate, m
except in the region around the rotor. The greatest vorticity values ε dissipation rate of the turbulent kinetic energy, W kg1
are reached in the internal and external sides of the buckets. The m dynamic viscosity, Pa s
distribution of the vorticity in the longitudinal plane defined by mt turbulent viscosity, Pa s
x ¼ 0 mm shows that the maximum vorticity values are recorded in r density, kg m3
the superior and inferior parts of the buckets and around the rotor's sk constant of the k-ε turbulence model
axe. The distribution in the longitudinal plane defined by y ¼ 0 mm sε constant of the k-ε turbulence model
shows another maximum value zone in the convex surface of the j bucket arc angle, 
buckets. Indeed, a wake zone characteristic of the maximum values dij Kronecker delta function, dimensionless
appears in the four corners of the test section. Apparently the most
important is the right down corner.
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