Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 40 (1992) 277-292 277

Elsevier

On the torque mechanism of Savonius rotors

Nobuyuki Fujisawa
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gunma University, Kiryu 376, Japan
(Received December 10, 1991 )

Summary
The aerodynamic performance and the flow fields of Savonius rotors at various overlap ratios
have been investigated by measuring the pressure distributions on the blades and by visualizing
the flow fields in and around the rotors with and without rotation. Experiments have been per-
formed on four rotors having two semicircular blades but with different overlap ratios ranging 0
to 0.5. The static torque performance is improved by increasing the overlap ratio especially on the
returning blade, which is due to the pressure recovery effect by the flow through the overlap. On
the other hand, the torque and the power performance of the rotating rotor reaches a maximum
at an overlap ratio of 0.15. This effect is largely created by the Coanda-like flow on the convex
side of the advancing blade, which is strengthened by the flow through the overlap at this small
overlap ratio. However, this phenomenon is weakened as the overlap ratio is further increased,
suggesting a deteriorated performance of the rotor. Observations of the flow inside the rotor in-
dicate an increased recirculating region at such large overlap ratios, which also suggests a reduced
aerodynamic efficiency for rotors with large overlap.

Nomenclature

AH aspect ratio, HID

a overlap distance
cp power coefficient, 2T(o/(pU3DH)
Cpr pressure coefficient, 2 (P'Pa)/ (PU2)
ct torque coefficient, 4T/(pU2D2H)
cts static torque coefficient, 4Td (pU2D2H)
c~to local torque coefficient, 4T'/(pU2D2H)
D rotor diameter
Do end plate diameter
G overlap ratio, a~(2R)
H rotor height
p pressure on blade
Pa atmospheric pressure
Correspondence to: Prof. N. Fujisawa, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gunma Univer-
sity, 1-5-1 Tenjin, Kiryu 376, Japan.

0167-6105/92/$05.00 © 1992 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved.

278

R blade radius
Re Reynolds number, UD/v
r momentum arm
T torque
Ts static torque
T' local torque
U flow velocity
X tip-speed ratio, 0.5DoJ/U

Greek letters
0 rotor angle
v kinematic viscosity of fluid
p density of fluid
biade angle
o) angular velocity of rotor

Subscripts
a advancing blade
r returning blade

1. Introduction

The aerodynamic efficiency of the Savonius rotor is poorer than that of other
types of wind turbines, such as propeller and Darrieus rotors, but it is simple
in structure, and has a good starting torque performance with the operating
characteristics independent of wind direction. Hence, studies of the Savonius
rotor are popular, and some efforts have been made to improve the aerodyn-
amic perfbrmance without unduly affecting these characteristic features [ 1,2 ].
In the past, the performance of the Savonius rotor has been examined by
measuring the global characteristics such as the torque and the power perform-
ance in order to optimize the geometrical configuration of the rotor for prac-
tical design [3-7]. However, in these experiments the mechanism of torque
and power production during the rotation of the rotor could not be explained.
Therefore, flow visualization experiments have been performed to investigate
the flow mechanism around the rotors [3,8-14 ]. Smoke-wire visualization pic-
tures [ 11 ] show clear indications of the lift force contributions to the torque
mechanism of a rotating rotor, which is different from that of a still rotor.
Further quantitative discussion of the torque mechanism has been con
ducted by measuring the pressure distributions on the blade surfaces of the
rotor with and without rotation [ 13,14 ]. (It is worth mentioning that the torque
coefficient obtained from the integration of the pressure distributions on both
sides of the blades are in close agreement with the direct torque measurement
by a torque detector.) These experimental investigations explain the mecha-
 279

nism of the torque and the power production of the Savonius rotor at various
rotor angles and tip-speed ratios. However, the experiments are limited to a
rotor with fixed overlap ratio.
Previous experiments indicate that the power performance is improved by
providing an overlap up to a ratio of 0.15, while it deteriorates for larger overlap
ratios beyond this value [3-7 ]. Such a physical mechanism has been tested for
a still rotor by a flow visualization experiment [3] but has never been exam-
ined for a rotating rotor.
In the present paper, the aerodynamic performance and the flow fields of
Savonius rotors with various overlap ratios have been investigated by meas-
uring the pressure distributions on the blades, and by visualizing the flow fields
in and, around the rotors. Special attention has been focused on the effect of
the overlap on the mechanism of torque and power production of the Savonius
rotor.

2. Experimental apparatus and procedures

2.1. Experimental arrangement

A schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. Uni-
form flow was produced by an open-circuit type wind tunnel exited from the
square contraction nozzle with an outlet side length of 500 ram. The Savonius
rotor under test was placed at the tunnel center and 700 mm downstream of
the nozzle exit. The measured velocity distribution at this position with the
rotor removed was uniform to within _+0.5% of the flow velocity in the central

~ Advancing blade

--i 'Returning blade

v J

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus.

280

area of 380 × 380 mm [ 11 ]. As the Savonius rotor lay within a maximum pro-
jected area of 320 × 320 mm, the present experiments were made in a uniform
flow.
The test Savonius rotors had two semicircular blades with an overlap be-
tween them. Four different values of the overlap ratio G ( = a / ( 2 R ) ) were ex-
amined, that is G - O , 0.15, 0.3, and 0.5, where a is an overlap distance and R is
a blade radius. It should be noted that an overlap ratio G - 0 . 1 5 is an optimum
value from the standpoint of power performance as measured in the literature
[3-7]. The other geometrical parameters were set to the optimum design pa-
rameters obtained from previous experiments [5 ], that is an end plate diam-
eter Do= 1.1D and an aspect ratio As ( = H / D ) = 1, where D is the rotor diam-
eter and H is its height. The rotor shafts between the blades were removed. As
the blade radius R was fixed at 80 mm for all test rotors, the rotor projected
area ( = DH) varied with the overlap ratio. Hence, the performance of the ro-
tors received a different blockage effect (for an open-circuit wind tunnel) and
a possible effect of the Reynolds number Re( = UD/u ), since the flow velocity
was kept constant in the experiments. According to measurements of the power
performance of a Savonius rotor in an open-circuit wind tunnel [ 15 ], the max-
imum error due to the deviations of the blockage and the Reynolds number in
the present experiment is estimated as 8% of the power output.

2.2. Measurement of pressure distributions and rotor performance

Figure 2 shows the experimental arrangement of the Savonius rotor for the
measurement of the pressure distributions on the blades and the global per-
formance of the rotor. The pressure measurements were made at 26 pressure

~
a.-._~.~_
..~l~ 0 Mechanical seal
Pressure transducer
® Pressure tube
(~ Micro computer
(.5) Photo sensor
~) i ® Savonius rotor
Torque detector
~~---J" ® DC motor

Fig. 2. Details of Savonius rotor for measuring local and global characteristics.
 281

holes located in the mid-plane of one side of each blade and with a pressure
transducer of the strain-gauge type fixed outside the rotor. The connection
between the pressure holes and the pressure transducer were made of stainless
steeltubes together with a mechanical seal,as seen in the figure.Operation of
the pressure tubes was changed manually. This measuring system was de-
signed to respond up to a frequency of 200 Hz, which was high enough for the
present experiment, as the m a x i m u m rotor frequency was lessthan 10 Hz. The
signals from the pressure transducer and the photo sensor for detecting the
rotor angle were digitizedsimultaneously with an A D converter and the pro-
cedure for time-averaging was carried out on a microcomputer. The
uncertainty of the pressure measurement was +_2% for the still rotor and _+5%
for the rotating rotor. For some details see Ref. [ 14 ].
The torque and the power performance of the rotor were measured by a
torque detector of the magnetic-phase type located between the rotor and the
DC motor. Correction for the friction loss between the rotor axis and the sup-
port was made by measuring the friction torque with the rotor converted to a
circular cylinder by covering it with a sheet of hard paper, and then driving it
with the DC motor. The angular velocity of the rotor was measured by a photo
sensor and pulse counter. The corrected values of torque and power coefficient
are accurate within + 3%. All these measurements were made in a flow velocity
U = 6 m/s.

2.3. Flow visualizations

The instantaneous flow pattern in and around the Savonius rotors were vis-
ualized by the smoke-wire method. For the observations of the external flow
around the rotor, the smoke-wire was located upstream of the rotor and the
pictures were taken by a still camera. On the other hand, the observations of
the flow inside the rotor were made by a smoke-wire fixed to the rotor and
electric heating was supplied through rotating contacts at the end plate. The
observations were made by a CCD camera and then the direction of the mean
flow motion was analyzed. The experiments were performed at a flow velocity
U = 1.5 m/s for the observation of the external flow and at U=0.7 m/s for the
flow inside the rotor. For the details see Ref. [ 13 ].

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Torque and power performance

Figure 3 shows the distributions of the static torque coefficient Cts ( -" 4Ts/
(pU2D2H) of the Savonius rotor at various overlap ratios, which are plotted
against the rotor angle 0. The static torque coefficient has a maximum at a
small rotor angle 0=300-40 ° and a minimum at a large rotor angle 0= 150 °-
160 ° , and these features are almost independent of the overlap variations.
However, the magnitudes of c~ distributions grow as the overlap ratio increases.
282

0.4
&
o

0.2 • A
o
• d~
o
0 • o
z~ o

i t !
-0"200 45 ° 90 ° 135 ° 180 °
0
Fig. 3. Variations of static-torque coefficient ¢t~ with rotor angle O"• G'-O, 0 G-0.15, • (/=0.3,
and ,_'Xa=0.5.

0./4

G
o o
A&A.I oQ ° e
~ e A a A
& b o

• "t,. e~

0 0,5 1,0 1,5

x

Fig. 4. Torque coefficient ct in relation to tip-speed ratio X: • G = 0 , O G--0.15, • G--0.3, and

A G=0.5.

Figure 4 and 5 show, respectively, the distributions of the torque coefficient

ct ( = 4 T / ( p U 2 D 2 H ) and the power coefficient Cp ( = 2 T ~ / ( p U 3 D H ) ) of the
Savonius rotors. These are expressed in relation to the tip-speed ratio X
( = 0.5Do)~ U). According to the torque distributions in Fig. 4, the ct distribu-
tions at small tip-speed ratio X--- 0-0.4 are remarkably improved by increasing
the overlap ratio, as is observed in a still rotor. (The average values of the static
torque coefficient are also plotted at X = 0 . ) However, when the tip-speed ratio
increases beyond 0.4, the torque performance for a rotor with large overlap
becomes poorer than that without overlap, and the improvement of the torque
performance is limited to the rotor with small overlap ratio G---0.15. The max-
imum value of the ct distributions is obtained at this overlap ratio at around a
 283

0.2

o ot
OQ • • •
ol& • A Z~A AA ~O
A &
O A II~

0.1 • ~ %
OOz~A A •
&A •
• OA

O &A

~o • ~
0

0 6 0:5
X

Fig. 5. Power coefficient Cpin relation to tip-speed ratio X: Q G=0, O G=0.15, • G=0.3, and
G-0.5.

tip-speed ratio X = 0.4-0.5. On the other hand, the power distributions in Fig.
5 give peaks at relatively large tip-speed ratios X - 0 . 8 - 1 . 0 because of the effect
of the angular velocity of the rotor, which appears in the definition of the power
coefficient. It can be seen, that the maximum power coefficient is obtained
from the rotor with G=0.15, but an even better performance is obtained from
the rotor with G - 0 . 3 at a relatively large tip-speed ratio X>~ 1.1. This result
agrees qualitatively with the previous results in the literature [2-7 ]. I~ should
be noted, that the magnitudes of the torque and the power coefficients found
by various experiments [2-7 ] show some deviations because of the differences
in experimental conditions, such as the rotor configurations, the effects of wind
tunnel blockage, and Reynolds number.

3.2. Torque mechanism and flow fields of still rotors

Figure 6 and 7 show, respectively, the pressure distributions and the flow
fields in and around a still Savonius rotor at two typical rotor angles 0=0 ° and
0=90 ° . Each figure gives the distributions of the pressure coefficient %,
( = 2 ( p - p a ) / (PU 2) ) on the blades, (a), the visualized flow fields around the
rotors, (b), and the flow patterns inside the rotors, (c), at various overlap ra-
tios. It should be noted, that the pressure coefficient Cp,in (a) is shown positive
on the convex side and its magnitude is expressed by a normal distance from
the blade. It is seen from the visualized pictures, (b), that the external flow is
roughly independent of the overlap variation.% which is also supported by the
measured pressure distributions on the convex side of each blade. On the other
hand, the flow inside the rotor, (c), undergoes some remarkable changes of the
overlap. The typical feature of the flow inside the rotor is the appearance of
the flow through the overlap, which is directed from the concave side of the
advancing blade to that of the returning one. This flow produces a pressure
 QO

~ C
Co°nnvceaxve~~z::~ ~ ~ '~

(b) . . . .

(c)

Fig. 6. Pressure distributions and flow fields of still Savonius rotors (X-- 0, 8 - 0 ° ): (a) pressure distributions, (b) visualized external flow, and
(c) flow inside rotors.
(b)

(c)

v v v ~

Fig. 7. Pressure distributions and flow fields of still Savonius rotors ( X = 0, 0 = 90 ° ): (a) pressure distributions, (b) visualized external flow, and
(c) flow inside rotors.
286

increase on the concave side of the returning blade as can be seen in the pres-
sure distributions, and, hence, the negative torque on the returning blade is
reduced. Since the pressure recovery effect on the concave side of the returning
blade increases gradually as the overlap ratio increases, the static torque per-
formance of the rotor can be improved as observed in Fig. 3. The flow obser-
vations inside the rotor, (c), indicate that a reverse flow appears on the con-
cave side of the returning blade as the overlap increases to G=0.3 and 0.5. This
flow results in a recirculating flow in the central region of the rotor and it grows
in size as the overlap ratio increases, which suggests an increase in the aero-
dynamic losses inside the rotor.

3.3. Torque mechanism and flow fields of rotating rotors

Figure 8 and 9 show, respectively, the pressure distributions and the flow
fields of the rotating Savonius rotors at two typical rotor angles 0--0 ° and
0=90 °. The tip-speed ratio is fixed at X = 0.9, where the maximum power per-
formance is obtained. A dramatic change of the flow field is observed in the
visualized pictures compared with those for the still rotors. The main features
of the external flow field are roughly independent of the overlap ratio as was
observed for the still rotors. The Coanda-like flow pattern, which contributes
largely to the torque mechanism of the rotating rotor [13 ], appears on the
convex side of the advancing blade of all the rotors. However, the magnitude
of the negative pressure induced by this flow is much affected by the overlap
ratio, as seen in the pressure distributions on the convex side of the blade. The
magnitude of the negative pressure reaches a maximum for a small overlap
ratio G---0.15 and it decreases gradually as the overlap ratio increases further.
Hence, the optimum torque performance is expected at this small overlap ratio
G=0.15, which agrees with the result of the direct torque measurement shown
in Fig. 4 and that in the literature [2-7 ]. Such a large negative pressure on the
convex side can be caused by the smooth flow through the overlap as seen in
the inside flow field, (c), which stimulates the outward flow on the concave
side of the returning blade, and produces a reduced pressure there to enhance
the Coanda-like flow. However, this pressure on the concave side of the re-
turning blade increases gradually for larger overlap ratios as a result of the
increased recirculating region, as observed in the still rotors. This increases
the torque production of the returning blade, but reduces the positive torque
on the advancing blade by affecting the Coanda-like flow. On the other hand,
the increase in the recirculating region inside the rotors suggests the deterio-
ration of the rotor performance at large overlap ratio.

3.4. Local torque performance

Figure 10 and 11 show the distributions of the local torque coefficient c'to at
various rotor angles of the Savonius rotor in the still state (X=O) and in ro-
tation (X = 0.9 ), respectively. The local torque coefficient c ~ois estimated from
(a) +
~~ v e-Convex ~ ~

(b)

Fig. 8. Pressure distributions and flow fields of rotating Savonius rotors ( X - 0 . 9 , 0~-0 ° ): (a) pressure distributions, (b) visualized external flow,
oo
and (c) flow inside rotors. ~
 t~
0o
Oo

__-L_co°v~x- ~ +
(a) _c~
+ ~'--"-' c,,,.~l

(b)

Fig. 9. Pressure distributions and flow fields of rotating Savonius rotors ( X = 0.9, O= 90 ° ): (a) pressure distributions, (b) visualized external flow,
and (c) flow inside rotors.
 289

03
0.3
o~l al ~ & A A

-0.3 g:O o
0.3 -0.3
- ~ " ~ ' ° " ' ° , . ~ , , o~_ 0.3
0 - ---'~°-" " 4 • " "o "o "• "• j
-0.3 !
0.3 0:45 ° -0.3
~ "~#• ~°•~o ~ . ~ , ~ _ ~ 0.3
0 ~.~
~,~ Oo~1
-03
0.3 8:900 -0.3
-° ° ° o 03
0 ~.'2-.~ :~_.~.~

-0.3 e=135 ° ~ o
-0.3
I

-D/2 0 D/2
r,2 rr

Fig. 10. Distributions of local torque coefficient c~o of still Savonius rotors (X= 0): • G= 0, ©
G=0.15, • G--0.3, and A G=0.5.

the measured pressure distributions on both sides of the blades by the following
equation [ 16 ]:
c ~o = ( 2 R / D 2 ) ACpr r sin ~, (1)
where ACpr=Cpr (conve:x surface) -Cpr (concave surface), r is the momentum
arm, and ¢ is the blade langle defined as shown in Fig. 1. It is noted that ra and
r, indicate the momantum arm on the advancing and returning blade,
,/.'
respectively. /
The local tor~u~ distributions of the still rotor (Fig. 10) indicate that a pos-
itive torque i/~produced mainly by the stagnation pressure at 0= 45 °-90 ° on
the advar~ing~-blade with less influence of the overlap, while those at 0 = 0 °
and 0= 135 ° are more affected by the overlap variations. On the other hand,
the local torque coefficient on the returning blade is considerably affected by
the overlap ratio and it increases with the ratio for most of the rotor angles
except for 0= 135 °. As a whole, it can be said that the torque performance of
the still rotor is improved by increasing the overlap ratio, which supports the
static torque performance as shown in Fig. 3.
The local torque performance of the rotating rotor is shown in Fi~: 11, which
indicates a more remarked influence ?f the overlap ratio than that observed
for the still rotor. It is apparent that the magnitude of the local torque coeffi-
290

03 1 0.3

0 ~'~e ~. ~ . - ~ o-j 0

- 0.31 0 =0° -03

0 0A 0 •
0.3 / ,~ .~.,, O.o 0.3
0 ~°~'° • " " • t ~ % ~ -,,o"°'S~

-0.3 ~.~/ ¢ OAO

,, -,, 0=45°
]
v.o r " o. -0.3

]
-"%', ~o ~,'%- /
-0.3 o% o
0.3 ,, ~" " ,, 0=90 ° -03
'i '-- o, o , , , 0.3

-0.3 ,o~
0 0
o -0.3
I
6 =135 °

-D/2 0 D/2
ro r~

Fig.11.Distributionsoflocaltorquecoefficientc~oofrotatingSavoniusrotors(X= 0.9):• G-- 0,

O G=0.15, A G=0.3, and A G-0.5.

cient is increased on the advancing blade by the presence of the overlap, which
is caused by the strengthening mechanism of the Coanda-like flow on the con-
vex side of the advancing blade, as mentioned in a previous paragraph. The
local torque coefficienton the advancing blade is mostly positive and gives a
m a x i m u m at the overlap ratio G-0.15 for a rotor angle 0=450-90 °, while it
shifts to a larger overlap ratio as the rotor angle increases to 0= 135 °. O n the
other hand, the local torque coefficienton the returning blade is mostly nega-
tive,except for small rotor angles 0~ 45 °.The negative torque on the returning
blade becomes large at the small overlap ratio G=0.15 because of the reduced
pressure on the concave side of the returning blade, which isdue to the smooth
flow through the overlap. It isreduced for largeroverlap ratiosby the increased
pressure on the concave side due to the increase in flow separation inside the
rotor. It is apparent that the torque mechanism mentioned in the previous
paragraph is reproduced quantitatively in the local torque distributions.

4. Conclusions

Tile torque mechanism and the flow fields of Savonius rotors at various over-
lap ratios have been investigated experimentally. The results can be summa-
rized as follows:
 291

(1) The static torque performance of the rotor, especially of the returning
blade, is improved by the presence of the overlap. This is mainly caused by the
increased pressure on the concave side of the returning blade, clue to the flow
through the overlap.
(2) The aerodynamic performance of the rotating rotor is i~proved at the
small overlap ratio 0.15, while it is reduced for larger overlap ratios. It is mainly
contributed by the effect of the overlap on the torque production mechanism
of the advancing blade. The Coanda-like flow on the convex side of the ad-
vancing blade is strengthened by the smooth flow through the overlap to pro-
duce a large negative pressure at a small overlap ratio, while it is weakened by
flow separation for larger overlap ratios.
(3) The flow observations near the overlap indicate that the recirculating
region grows with the overlap ratio, independent of the tip-speed ratio, which
suggests a deterioration of the aerodynamic performance of the rotor at large
overlap ratios.
(4) These torque mechanisms for the Savonius rotor at various overlap ra-
tios with and without rotation are well reproduced in the local torque distri-
butions on the blades, which also support the measured global performances
of the rotors.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to express thanks to Mr. F. Gotoh and Mr. K. Ikeya
of the students of the Gunma University for their helpful cooperation in this
experiment.

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