Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

An innovative deflector system for drag-type Savonius turbine using a

rotating cylinder for performance improvement
Esmaeel Fatahian , Farzad Ismail , Mohammad Hafifi Hafiz Ishak *, Wei Shyang Chang
School of Aerospace Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The present study mainly focused on a new design of deflector by utilizing a rotating cylinder to augment the
Rotating cylinder overall performance of the drag-type Savonius turbine since the negative torque generated by the returning blade
Drag-type Savonius turbine is the primary cause of its poor efficiency. This has never been studied previously. The influence of distance,
Deflector
angular velocity, and cylinder deflector diameter on torque and power coefficients, as well as the wake zone on
Wake zone
Savonius rotor performance, were numerically evaluated using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
method. The performance of the Savonius rotor was improved the most via the rotating cylinder deflector for
almost all Tip Speed Ratios (TSRs). At a high angular velocity (ω = 40 rad/s), it performed better at redirecting
incoming wind flow with high-velocity magnitude toward the concave surface of the advancing blade to increase
positive pressure while reducing pressure on the convex side of the returning blade. On the other hand, at low
angular velocity (ω = 3 rad/s) it required less energy to rotate in terms of energy consumption with a net torque
up to 14% improvement compared to without the deflector case. Overall, there is a huge efficiency gain using the
rotating cylinder deflector for all TSR ranges with about 50% more than the stationary deflector improvement at
TSR = 0.6.

rotor (drag-type). Both the Savonius and Darrieus configurations have

1. Introduction
The growth in the world population over the last decade has resulted
in a significant increment in energy consumption. With the reduction of
fossil fuels and the increase of environmental concerns like global
warming, unusual weather patterns, and high carbon dioxide (CO2)
emission rates, the world has realized that alternative energy sources are
required to assure sustainability and environment conservation. Using
fossil fuels to generate electricity has resulted in major environmental
concerns. An alternative solution would be the use of renewable energy
[1]. Recently, the resources of renewable energy have been remarkably
increased, such as geothermal energy, solar energy, biomass, and wind
energy due to the depletion of fossil energy, pollution, and global
warming. Wind energy is one of the most well-known and extensively
used sources of renewable energy. Capturing wind energy can assist to
reduce our dependency on fossil fuel resources [2,3]. Because of its
specific omni-direction characteristic, compactness, and ability to work
in harsh turbulence conditions, the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)
has recently gained attention to harvest wind energy [4]. There are two
sorts of VAWT designs: Darrieus wind turbine (lift-type) and Savonius
their merits and demerits. For instance, the Savonius rotor gives a high
value of starting torque while the Darrieus rotor gives a low value. The
performance prediction of lift-type VAWT (Darrieus turbines) is a very
difficult problem because their blades move around the rotor axis in a 3D
aerodynamic environment, resulting in several flow phenomena such as
dynamic stall [5], flow separation, flow wake deformations, and their
natural inability to self-start. In terms of wake formation and extension,
the Darrieus wind turbine definitely achieves lower wakes than the
Savonius wind turbine, although performance is highly dependent on
the incoming aerodynamic wake [6]. The Savonius rotor has good
starting capabilities, low running speeds, a simple construction, and the
ability to collect wind from any direction [7,8].
Vertical axis wind turbines can be placed on rooftops and the sides of
buildings in urban areas [9]. The velocity on the rooftop is greatly
enhanced due to the acceleration of the flow around the object, where
the wind speed gradient is larger than the natural wind shear [10]. At
the same time, in urban areas with considerable terrain roughness and
other obstacles, the wind velocity is lower near the ground as opposed to
on the rooftop [11]. As a result, the Darrieus VAWT is not a decent
candidate for these situations, unlike the Savonius VAWT [7] which has

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mhafifihafiz@usm.my (M. Hafifi Hafiz Ishak).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2022.115453
Received 23 November 2021; Received in revised form 28 February 2022; Accepted 1 March 2022
Available online 4 March 2022
0196-8904/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
E. Fatahian et al.
Nomenclature
θ Angle associated to time-step [◦ ]
ω Angular velocity of rotor [rad/s]
A Area swept by turbine [m2]
ρ Air density [kg/m3]
d Blade diameter [m]
DR Rotating domain diameter [m]
D Rotor diameter [m]
y+ Dimensionless wall distance [-]
P Pressure [Pa]
U∞ Inlet velocity [m/s]
a greater self-starting performance even at low wind speeds. Aside from
the self-starting capability issue, the development of Darrieus vertical
axis wind turbines also encounters other difficulties: dynamic stall
phenomenon [12], and induced drag. It seems that dynamic stall is al­
ways related to the loss of lift and power coefficients. Due to the limited
area in an urban environment, VAWTs with rotor diameters of roughly 1
m are installed on buildings or rooftops to operate at low wind speeds,
but the cost of design for large-scale VAWTs of these type will signifi­
cantly increase. Because the average wind speed in Malaysia is<7 m/s
[13,14], Savonius wind turbines are worth investigating further in
Malaysian urban areas when located close to obstacles (i.e., buildings,
hills) [15]. However, because the efficiency of the Savonius turbine is
relatively low, the authors focused on improving the performance of
small-scale Savonius wind turbines that can be integrated into urban
areas to perform at low wind speeds while keeping design costs as
minimal as possible relative to other types of wind turbines.
Extensive efforts have been made for enhancing the efficiency of
Savonius VAWT. For example, Masdari et al. [16] used a Savonius tur­
bine airfoil and developed various codes to optimize the airfoil geometry
to achieve the highest power coefficient. They revealed that changing
airfoil geometry could raise the power coefficient to 27% as compared to
a conventional Savonius turbine. Hassanzadeh et al. [17] compared four
different blade profiles of varying blade diameters to the blade depth
ratios (s/d). They realized that the profile of the blades in the Savonius
turbine affects power characteristics significantly. As a result, they
demonstrated that a rotor with s/d = 0.5 had the highest power co­
efficients. Al-Ghriybah et al. [18] investigated the influence of inner
blade spacing on the efficiency of traditional Savonius rotors with two
inner blades. Their findings indicated that the overall improvement was
32.9% compared to the traditional rotor with the spacing between inner
blades equal to 0.005 m and the inner blades angle equal to 100◦ .
Because of their omnidirectional design, the VAWT will extract wind
energy from all directions. This is a significant benefit of VAWT over
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT). The drag-type Savonius wind
turbine produces negative torque on the turbine’s returning blades,
resulting in a decrease in their overall efficiency. Some researchers also
suggested deflectors, concentrators, and guide vanes for the Savonius
turbine to solve its deficiency. The deflector using a flat plate is the most
basic power augmentation device. The deflector directs the wind flow
apart from the turbine’s returning blades, lowering negative torque and,
therefore improving the efficiency of the wind turbine [19]. Mohamed
et al. [20] utilized the obstacle shielding plate in front of returning blade
of the Savonius rotor to reduce the counter moment. As a result, it
increased the turbine overall moment. In comparison to the traditional
Savonius rotor, the power coefficient improved by approximately
38.9%. Layeghmand et al. [21] employed a CFD approach to optimize
the performance of the Savonius turbine utilizing a deflector having an
airfoil shape. They realized that an acceptable value of position and
angle was needed for obtaining the maximum torque and power co­
efficients. Furthermore, their CFD findings showed that the proposed
2
Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453
O Location of coordinate system [-]
s Overlap [m]
Pt Power [W]
Re Reynolds number [-]
µ Air viscosity [kg/ms]
R Rotor radius [m]
Cp Power coefficient [-]
Δt Time-step [s]
λ Tip Speed Ratio [-]
Mt Torque [N.m]
Cm Torque coefficient [-]
TSR Tip Speed Ratio [-]
deflector raised the static torque coefficient significantly. Mohamed
et al. [22] utilized an obstacle plate for protecting a part of the returning
blade. They found that a relative improvement in power coefficient of
nearly 40% was obtained as compared to a standard wind turbine. Zhao
et al. [23] considered the impact of deflectors on the overall wind tur­
bine performance in various configurations. The maximum torque co­
efficient was increased by 23%. In comparison to the no-deflector case,
the installation of deflector influenced wake recovery to a downstream
region.
The literature review revealed that the utilization of deflector as an
augmentation device implemented into the Savonius VAWT has a
remarkable role in improving the overall power performance which has
recently attracted the interest of research scientists. However, the major
drawback associated with the implementation of solid deflectors is the
severe effects of high-turbulence intensity and wake region generated
behind solid deflector, which has a considerable impact on the flow
dynamics, particularly near the returning blade. Moreover, it was found
that the returning blade produces negative torque, dramatically
reducing the power and torque of Savonius VAWT. It was reported that
large vortices were created behind the flat plate deflector, which caused
instability of flow influenced the returning blade. In addition, cyclic load
fluctuations caused by the interaction of wind turbine and deflector have
a negative effect resulting in an increase in system fatigue. Thus, an
effective approach is crucially needed to break down the wake zone
behind the deflector and reduce the formation of vortices downstream of
the rotor hence diffusing the turbulent intensity. According to the
existing literature, there are limited studies on the influence of utilizing
a circular cylinder deflector, which has a great potential to augment the
Savonius rotor performance. Setiawan et al. [24] placed circular cylin­
ders using different sizes in front of advancing blade at stagger angles.
They demonstrated that a cylinder with a staggered angle equal to 30◦
provided the greatest augmentation in Savonius power coefficient.
Setiawan et al. [25] also added a circular cylinder adjacent to the
concave or advancing blade. The effect of the nozzle produced by
advancing blade and the circular cylinder helps to provide blade ac­
celeration and, as a result, an enhancement in positive torque. According
to their numerical research, the power coefficient improved by around
17.3%. Yuwono et al. [26] experimentally estimated the use of a circular
cylinder upstream of the returning turbine blade on the efficiency of a
drag-type Savonius turbine. Their results revealed that modifying the
distance could increase the Savonius power coefficient, with the
maximum power coefficient occurring at the distance of 1.4, resulting in
a 12.2% improvement in power coefficient when compared to a stan­
dard one.
The creation of a vortical structure behind the stationary cylinder
deflector was observed in previous studies [24-26]. Despite the fact that
this deflector redirected the flow toward the advancing blade, the flow
separation over the stationary deflector created massive and strong
vortices, making the flow unstable and negatively affecting the return­
ing blade. The present research shall mainly focus on a new deflector
E. Fatahian et al.
design, rather than a conventional deflector system, by applying a
rotating cylinder to improve the overall performance of the drag-type
Savonius turbine, which to the authors’ best knowledge has never
been addressed before. In contrast to previous studies that employed a
common deflector such as solid deflector and stationary cylinder
deflector, which resulted in strong and huge vortices behind the
deflector, the present study suggested utilizing a rotating cylinder as a
deflector to reduce these detrimental impacts. First, several numerical
analyses were conducted based on the CFD method to consider the
variations in the angular velocity, the diameter of the stationary cylin­
der, and deflector distance to achieve the highest level of performance
from the drag-type Savonius turbine. It should be noted that the value of
the angular velocity of the cylinder is a key factor here. Then, a detailed
study was carried out herein to investigate the merits of the rotating
cylinder as a deflector compared to a stationary one.
Although only the fluid flow is studied herein, recent work by Lipian
et al. [27] evaluated the structural integrity of a small urban wind tur­
bine blade with a one-way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) method. The
study demonstrated that in the context of a small wind turbine, these
additional deformations are minor, with little to no effect on blade
aerodynamics under normal operating conditions of the examined wind
turbine. The present deflector system is designed to work with Savonius
small-scale wind turbines that can be installed in urban areas. As a result
of the minimal effect on blade aerodynamics when combined with the
small-scale Savonius wind turbine, this system has a high potential to be
used as a source of power generation.
It is also important to keep the mass of wind turbine rotors as low as
possible while maintaining the proper stiffness and reasonable produc­
tion costs. The proposed deflector system does not impose any
Fig. 1. A drag-type Savonius rotor a) 3D model b) Geometric details c) Rotor with a rotating cylinder deflector.
3
Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453
complexity in the manufacturing of turbine blades. Any extra material is
not added to rotor blades to increase the overall weight of the entire
rotor. Furthermore, the noise level radiating from individual Savonius
wind turbines may be relatively low because of their small size. Kim and
Cheong [28] suggested that the noise generated from the Savonius wind
turbine could be reduced by controlling the vortex shedding structure.
The current deflector system is meant to control flow separation and
vortex shedding, as well as to reduce strong and massive vortices behind
the deflector and to positively influence the wake zone downstream of
the rotor. Thus, this system has a high prospect for reducing noise
generated by the usual Savonius wind turbine.
2. Geometrical models
In recent years, researchers used various methods to find the best
operating conditions for the Savonius wind turbine. Among these
methods, a simple and inexpensive solution was to use a deflector to
raise the overall performance of the drag-type Savonius rotor, which is
reported in previous studies [1,2,4,19]. The use of a deflector enhances
the power coefficient by reducing the negative torque of returning
blade, which could be achieved by covering the returning blade with a
deflector. Fig. 1 illustrates the schematic view of a drag-type Savonius
rotor with a rotating cylinder deflector. Furthermore, Table 1 provides
the geometric characteristics of the Savonius rotor. The dimensions of
the proposed Savonius turbine were determined using experimental
findings from Sheldahl et al. [29] and computational results from Tian
et al. [30].
E. Fatahian et al.
Table 1
Geometrical values.
Parameters
Rotor diameter (D)
Blade diameter (d/D)
Rotating domain diameter (DR/D)
Distance of deflector from rotor center in x-direction (Lx/D)
Distance of deflector from rotor center in y-direction (Ly/D)
Diameter of rotating cylinder deflector (dc/D)
Overlap (s/D)
Thickness of blades (t/D)
Coordinate system location (O)
3. Computational model
3.1. Computational domain and grids
Fig. 2 shows the computational domain and boundary conditions
used in this research. The applied computational domain was classified
into two subdomains: a rotating zone made up of rotor blades with a
diameter of D and a large stationary zone outside of the rotating zone.
An interface divided these two subdomains, allowing the rotating zone
to revolve at particular velocities while keeping the stationary zone
static. The rotor was centered using the symmetry centerline along the
X-axis, and a rotating cylinder deflector was mounted in front of
returning blade. The upper and the lower boundaries were selected to be
at a distance of 10D from the center of the turbine; 8D is the upstream
boundary. The downstream boundary was located 16D from the rotor
center. The numerical domain was chosen to be large enough to prevent
the boundaries from influencing the calculated Cm and CP [31]. In the
current study, air was used as the working fluid (ρ = 1.225 kg/m3 and
µ=1.7894 × 10-5 kg/m.s). The inlet was defined as a velocity inlet in
which U∞ was equal to 7 m/s corresponding to a Reynolds number of
4.32 × 105. Moreover, a 1% turbulence intensity level at the velocity
inlet was set [32-34]. The outlet was considered a pressure outlet (at­
mospheric pressure). In accordance with TSR, a rotational circle was
presented to the rotating zone for Sliding Mesh Model (SMM) imple­
mentation with a specific rotational speed. The rotor blade was also
considered a no-slip boundary condition. On the top and bottom sides of
the domain, symmetry boundary conditions were expected to satisfy. In
physical geometry, the symmetry boundary conditions were set to zero
velocity normal to the boundary. A User Defined Function (UDF) was
developed and then compiled to the Fluent to allow the cylinder
8D
10D
Velocity inlet
Rotating cylinder deflector
10D
Fig. 2. Computational domain.
Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453
deflector to rotate with fixed angular velocities to include a wide range
from 1 rad/s to 50 rad/s.
Values To generate the grids for domains, mostly a structured grid was
employed for both the inner rotating zone and the outer stationary re­
0.909 (m)
0.5 gion to minimize the degradation of results due to unstructured grids
1.1 when using finite volume methods [35-37]. The rotating area generated
[1,1.4,1.8] a finer grid than the stationary zone, which is illustrated in Fig. 3. To
[0.3,0.5,1] precisely capture the influence of the boundary layer upon blade per­
[0.5,0.75,1]
0.1
formance, inflation layers were used in conjunction with the blades.
0.011 Throughout all computations, the maximum and average values of y+
(0,0) were maintained below 0.7 and 0.3, respectively, resulting in a fine grid
mesh resolution surrounding the blades [38]. Table 2 summarizes the
grid parameters for the Savonius turbine, following the recommenda­
tions of best practices in terms of grids [39,40].
3.2. Grid independence study
Following the completion of each CFD simulation for ten rotation
cycles, the coefficients from the last cycle were applied in the numerical
study. For the convergence assessment, the CFD modeling of the Savo­
nius rotor was chosen at a tip speed ratio of 1. Over 10 rotation cycles,
Fig. 4 indicated the Cm (for rotor and blades) based on the rotation angle.
After 5 rotation cycles, the Cm curves had converged. The relative dif­
ference in average Cm was<0.5% in the last rotation cycle. As a result, it
is reasonable to evaluate rotor performance using coefficients from the
10th cycle.
A grid-independent study of the Savonius rotor was accomplished by
taking into account different grid levels. A finer grid will typically
produce more precise numerical values, but total grids will need more
data processing and a longer computation time. As a result, a mesh in­
dependence analysis is essential to select an appropriate mesh size that
minimizes computing time and cost while assuring high-quality anal­
ysis. For three distinct mesh sizes (65000, 130000, and 195000), Fig. 5
depicts the rotor torque coefficient vs rotation angle utilized in the grid-
independent test. It was clear that the findings for the medium and fine
mesh grids were entirely compatible, and finer grids would have little
influence on the results. Consequently, the mesh of around 130,000 el­
ements can correctly predict rotor performance and can be used in
further CFD simulations. Various time-steps were utilized, extending
from 0.5◦ /step to 2◦ /step for verifying the time-step independence.
Then, the instantaneous Cm was captured which can be observed in
Fig. 6. For four-time steps, the Cm is very consistent. For subsequent
simulations, a time-step of 1◦ /step was applied to increase the efficiency
16D
Symmetry
Rotating zone
Pressure outlet
Symmetry
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E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

Fig. 3. Mesh generation.a) Domain b) Rotating zone c) Near-wall cell layer surrounding the blades.

Table 2 1
M = Cm ρARU02 (1)
Generation of grids. 2
Mesh density Coarse Medium Fine where M and Cm denote torque and torque coefficient, respectively, ρ
Cell number 65,000 130,000 195,000 is the air density, U0 represents the wind speed, and A and R indicate the
Cell number in rotating zone 15,000 20,000 35,000 swept area and radius of the wind turbine, respectively. The torque
Cell number in stationary zone 50,000 110,000 160,000 coefficient is related to the power coefficient, which can be written as
Inflation number 10 20 25
follows:.
Inflation growth factor 1.1 1.1 1.1
First layer thickness (mm) 0.4 0.1 0.05 Cp = λCm (2)
Average y+ 1.5 0.4 0.3
Average orthogonal quality 0.8 0.82 0.83 where λ is the tip speed ratio, which is defined as:.
Average skewness 0.271 0.264 0.262
Average aspect ratio 7.86 7.64 7.63 Rω
λ= (3)
U0

of CFD simulation. where is ω the angular velocity of the rotor.

The power coefficient is expressed as the ratio of power generated by
the wind turbine to the available power in the airflow, and it is written
3.3. Performance parameters as follows:.
P
Once the fluid flow all around the Savonius rotor was simulated, the Cp = 1 (4)
ρAU03
torque provided from the wind turbine blades may be determined using 2

the following equation [41]:.

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E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

1.2

1
Variation region Converged
0.8 region

Torque coefficient (Cm)

0.6

0.4

0.2

-0.2
Last rotation to calculate
-0.4 average torque coefficient

-0.6
0 360 720 1080 1440 1800 2160 2520 2880 3240 3600
Rotation angle/degree

Fig. 4. Variations of torque coefficient for 10 cycles.

1 1
65000 2°
0.9 130000 0.9 1°
195000 0.5°
0.8 0.8

0.7 0.7
Torque coefficient (Cm)
Torque coefficient (Cm)

0.6 0.6

0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4

0.3 0.3

0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1

0 0

-0.1 -0.1

-0.2 -0.2
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Rotation angle/degree Rotation angle/degree

Fig. 5. Grid-independent test. Fig. 6. Time-step independence test.

where P corresponds to the power. entire performance of VAWTs due to its low computing cost
[19,38,49,50]. The governing equations are expressed as:.
∂
3.4. Governing equations (ui ) = 0 (5)
∂xi
( )
Due to the complexity of the flow over a rotating wind turbine, Large ∂ ∂ ∂P ∂ ∂ui ∂ ( )
(6)
′ ′

Eddy Simulation (LES) has been demonstrated to produce accurate re­ ρ (ui ) + ρ (ui uj ) = − +μ + − ρuj ui
∂t ∂xj ∂xi ∂xj ∂xj ∂xj
sults. Unfortunately, it is computationally more costly than RANS tur­
bulence models. RANS turbulence models remain to be the most popular where − ρuj ui indicates the Reynolds stress. ui denotes the air ve­
′ ′

CFD solver for the aerodynamics of vertical axis wind turbines due to locity component, P is pressure, and µ is the air dynamic viscosity.
their accurate results and low computational cost than LES [42,43]. To simulate the turbulence flow behavior, the k-ω SST turbulence
Many researchers have been used the ordinary procedure of CFD model, developed by Menter [51], is utilized for simulations, which can
simulation to consider the aerodynamic performance of the Savonius be written as follows:.
vertical axis wind turbine and propose different methods to enhance the [ ]
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂k
overall performance of this kind of wind turbine [2,4,18,19,31,32]. To (ρk) + (ρkui ) = Γk + Gk − Yk (7)
∂t ∂xi ∂xj ∂xj
predict and simulate the flow around the VAWT, the incompressible
URANS equations and the k-ω SST turbulence model were employed [ ]
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ω
which are commonly used in many types of CFD simulations [44-48]. (ρω) + (ρωui ) = Γ + Gω − Yω + Dω (8)
∂t ∂xi ∂xj ω ∂xj
The selection of a suitable turbulence model is important for producing
accurate findings with acceptable computational stability. Many studies where Гk and Гω represent the effective diffusivity of k and ω,
have indicated that k-ω SST is the most suitable model to predict the

6
E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

respectively. Gk and Gω are the generations of k and ω due to mean 0.4

velocity gradients, respectively. Besides, Yk and Yω correspond to the Experimental
dissipation of k and ω, respectively and Dω indicates the cross-diffusion Present study
term. 0.35
The Ansys Fluent 2021 R1 CFD code was used for numerical simu­

Average torque coefficient (Cm)

lations. The momentum and pressure correction equations were solved
using a pressure-based solver. To augment the stability of the solution 0.3
and provide reasonable results, the flow solver adopted the Semi-
Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equations (SIMPLE) method for
0.25
pressure–velocity coupling. Moreover, a second-order upwind approach
was implemented for the convective terms [31,32,52,53]. The conver­
gence criterion for each variable was fixed at 10-6. Table 3 presented the 0.2
solver setting for CFD simulation. Equation (9) was used to compute the
time-steps:.
θ 0.15
Δt|θ◦ = (9)
ω 180
π

where θ is related to time-steps. 0.1

0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
TSR
3.5. Validation

The experimental test done by Sheldahl et al. [29] was used to 0.3
confirm the CFD modeling of the present study to assess the reliability of Experimental
the numerical results. This experimental data has been widely utilized in Present study
the consideration of the aerodynamic performance of drag-type Savo­
nius turbine without deflector case at Re = 4.32 × 105 which can be 0.27
Average power coefficient (CP)

observed in Fig. 7. It could be claimed that the current CFD modeling

closely matches the trend of average torque and power coefficients (Cm
and CP) in terms of TSR, and the experimental results and the present 0.24
observations are in good agreement, with minor discrepancies of at most
5%. Table 4 compares the average CP at two different Tip Speed Ratios
(TSRs) equal to 0.6 and 1 based on the results of existing numerical
0.21
works for Savonius wind turbine without deflector case [30,54,55] to
better evaluate the precision of the numerical results. With a maximum
difference of 3.4%, it is evident that the current CFD modeling and other
numerical studies are in good agreement as well. Due to the lack of 0.18
available experimental and numerical studies on the deflector system
using a rotating cylinder, the experimental data of Yuwono et al. [26]
were utilized to validate the current numerical results in the presence of 0.15
a stationary cylinder deflector. In their study, the average CP was 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
measured for a Savonius wind turbine with a circular cylinder mounted TSR
in front of the returning blade at Re = 9.9 × 105. In Fig. 8, it can be
Fig. 7. Comparison of CFD modeling against experimental data of Sheldahl
observed that the procedure of the present CFD simulation is capable of
et al. [29].

Table 3
Solver setting. Table 4
Grid number 130,000 Comparison between the average power coefficient (CP) of the present study and
Time-step 0.00113276 s (1 degree per time-step), Tip Speed Ratio = previous numerical studies [30,54,55].
1
Average CP
Sub-iterations per 20
Numerical Turbulence TSR = difference TSR = difference
time-step
studies model 0.6 (%) 1 (%)
Solution methods Solver Transient
Pressure-based Present SST k-ω 0.2184 – 0.2504 –
SIMPLE study
Discretization Least Squares Cell-Based method Tian et al. SST k-ω 0.219 0.3 0.246 1.8
methods for gradients [30]
Second-order upwind Roshan et al. SST k-ω 0.215 1.6 0.258 3.0
discretization for equations [54]
Solution controls Under-Relaxation Pressure = 0.3 Alizadeh SST k-ω 0.2183 0.04 0.242 3.4
factors Momentum = 0.4 et al. [55]
Rotational model Sliding Mesh Model (SMM)
Turbulence model SST k-ω
Boundary conditions Incoming flow V = 7 m/s
velocity
Angular velocity ω = 9 – 20 rad/s
Turbulence boundary Inlet TI = 1% - TVR = 10
conditions Outlet TI = 5% - TVR = 10
Residual criteria 10-6

7
E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

0.24 performance. The Savonius performance has been affected by the

Experimental addition of the cylinder as a passive control mounted in front of
0.21 Present study returning blade. The effect of x-direction distance of stationary cylinder
deflector on the performance of drag-type Savonius turbine was
0.18 considered that is illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. Three different x-direc­
Average power coefficient (CP)

tion distances of a stationary cylinder deflector (Lx/D = 1, Lx/D = 1.4,

and Lx/D = 1.8) were compared to the case without deflector when the
0.15
y-direction distance was fixed (Ly/D = 0.5). Because it was positioned in
front of the returning blade, the cylinder deflector upstream of the fluid
0.12
flow became an obstacle to the flow. The negative torque on returning

0.09

0.06

0.03

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
TSR

Fig. 8. Comparison between CP of the turbine with cylinder deflector of present

simulation with experimental data of Yuwono et al. [26].

reproducing the average CP with an average error of 8% that demon­

strates the reliability, and robustness of the present numerical study.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Torque and power analysis

The average torque coefficient (Cm) and average power coefficient

(CP) were numerically analyzed and discussed with regard to TSR for all
cases. The investigation of the rotor’s average power characteristics is an Fig. 10. Comparison of CP at different TSR values for stationary cylin­
effective and commonly used approach to find the optimal rotor der deflector.

0.42
Without deflector
Lx/D=1
Lx/D=1.4
0.37
Lx/D=1.8

0.32

0.27
Cm

0.22

0.17

0.12
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
TSR
Fig. 9. Comparison of Cm at different TSR values for stationary cylinder deflector.

8
E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

blade decreased, which is obvious when the cylinder deflector was 0.32
Without deflector
mounted at Lx/D = 1.4. Once the cylinder deflector is placed far away
Ly/D=0.3
from the Savonius turbine, the turbine’s performance reduces and the
Ly/D=0.5
cylinder deflector’s impact begins to diminish; the turbine’s perfor­ Ly/D=1
0.29
mance is lower than conventional Savonius performance. This is due to
the existence of the cylinder deflector, which disturbed the flow field
and made the flow around the rotor unstable. As shown in Fig. 10, due to
the augmentation of angular velocity, the Cm dropped approximately 0.26
linearly with increasing TSR in all conditions which is consistent with

Cp
the finding of previous studies [19,21,53]. It is clear that for TSR = 0.6,
larger values of average Cm were obtained for Lx/D = 1.4. In this case,
0.23
the average Cm increased by 7.1% when compared to a conventional
Savonius turbine without a deflector. The augmentation in x-direction
distance from 1 to 1.8, on the other hand, has a detrimental effect on the
average Cm at all TSRs as it did not positively cover the returning blade. 0.2
According to the results shown in Fig. 10, the average Cp increased by
raising TSR values until it reached the highest values for all analyzed
cases. The values of Cp were then lowered, which had a good agreement
0.17
with the predictions of earlier studies [17,21,56]. Furthermore, for the 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
case of Lx/D = 1.4, the greatest value of average Cp was found when TSR TSR
was equal to 0.9. The maximum increase in the average Cp was deter­
mined to be 7.2% when compared to the case without the deflector. Fig. 12. Comparison of CP at different TSR values for stationary cylin­
der deflector.
Moreover, the influence of the y-direction distance of the stationary
cylinder deflector on the overall performance of the drag-type Savonius
rotor was studied and depicted in Figs. 11 and 12. Three different y- 0.45
direction distances of the stationary cylinder deflector (Ly/D = 0.3, Ly/D Without deflector
= 0.5, and Ly/D = 1) were compared to the conventional Savonius dc/D=0.5
turbine. It can be observed in Fig. 12, the average torque coefficient (Cm) 0.4 dc/D=0.75
was dramatically increased for the case of Ly/D = 0.5 for the TSR equal dc/D=1
to 0.6. In comparison to the case without deflector, maximum Cm was 0.35
achieved by 7.1%. According to the findings in Fig. 12, for all cases
analyzed, the average power coefficient increased as TSR raised until it
reached its maximum value. Following that, there was a reduction in 0.3
average CP. It is obvious that placing a cylinder deflector next to the
Cm

advancing blade led to a negative impact on the performance of the

0.25
drag-type Savonius turbine. By mounting the cylinder deflector at the
case of Ly/D = 0.3, the advancing blade was covered completely which
resulted in a substantial reduction of positive pressure on the concave 0.2
side of the advancing blade together with an augmentation in pressure
on the convex side of the returning blade. All of these negatively reduced
0.15
the total average torque generated by the combination of two blades.
The Savonius turbine performance was numerically evaluated in
0.1
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
0.45 TSR
Without deflector
Ly/D=0.3 Fig. 13. Comparison of Cm at different TSR values for stationary cylin­
Ly/D=0.5 der deflector.
0.4
Ly/D=1

relation to the diameter of the stationary cylinder deflector. As it can be

0.35 seen in Figs. 13 and 14, different values of diameters (dc/D = 0.5, dc/D
= 0.75, and dc/D = 1) were compared to the case without any deflector.
In Fig. 14, the average Cm is reduced by increasing TSR. The diameter of
0.3 the stationary cylinder deflector proved to be a key point on the per­
Cm

formance of the Savonius turbine so that for dc/D = 0.5 and dc/D = 0.75,
the Cm increased by 4.1% and 7.1% respectively compared to the case
0.25 without a deflector. The increment in average Cm was obtained for all
TSRs from 0.6 to 1.3. On the other hand, increasing the deflector
diameter from dc/D = 0.75 to dc/D = 1 has a detrimental impact on the
0.2 values of Cm. As it can be seen, the average torque coefficient decreased
by about 6.3% compared to without deflector case at dc/D = 1. This is
due to the increment of cylinder diameter from dc/D = 0.75 to dc/D = 1
0.15 that will create a blockage in the upstream flow to the wind turbine. The
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
concave side of the advancing blade was partially covered by a larger
TSR
cylinder deflector in this condition, which diverted the flow to the top
Fig. 11. Comparison of Cm at different TSR values for stationary cylin­ half of the advancing blade. Fig. 14 reveals that when the deflector
der deflector.

9
E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

0.35 0.32
Without deflector Without deflector
dc/D=0.5 ω=1 rad/s
dc/D=0.75 0.3 ω=3 rad/s
ω=5 rad/s
0.3 dc/D=1
ω=7 rad/s
0.28

0.25
0.26
Cp

Cp
0.24
0.2

0.22

0.15
0.2

0.1 0.18
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
TSR TSR

Fig. 14. Comparison of CP at different TSR values for stationary cylin­ Fig. 16. Comparison of Cp at different TSR values for rotating cylinder
der deflector. deflector at ω = 1 rad/s to ω = 7 rad/s.

diameter is set at dc/D = 0.75, the highest value of Cp is attained at TSR

0.45
= 0.9. In comparison to a standard Savonius turbine, the Cp has Without deflector
increased by 7.2% with this diameter. ω=10 rad/s
The effect of a rotating cylinder deflector on the performance of a 0.4 ω=20 rad/s
Savonius rotor was quantitatively considered using the CFD technique ω=30 rad/s
which is shown in Figs. 15 to 18. A broad range of angular velocities for a ω=40 rad/s
0.35 ω=50 rad/s
rotating cylinder deflector was chosen, ranging from 1 rad/s to 50 rad/s,
to satisfy both low and high angular velocities. Since the maximum
performance improvement in the Savonius wind turbine was achieved at 0.3
a specific deflector position (Lx/D = 1.4, Ly/D = 0.5, and dc/D = 0.75),
Cm

this condition was selected for further studies. The average values of Cm
0.25
and Cp for rotating cylinder deflectors at low angular velocities between
ω = 1 rad/s and ω = 7 rad/s are shown in Figs. 15 and 16. It is obvious
that using all rotating cylinder deflectors to improve Cm and Cp at all 0.2
TSRs is favorable. However, when compared to greater angular veloc­
ities, it was shown that applying a low angular velocity at a low TSR
0.15
performed better. At TSR = 0.6, using a rotating cylinder deflector with
a velocity ω = 3 rad/s increased the average Cm by 19%. While the
0.1
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
TSR

Fig. 17. Comparison of Cm at different TSR values for rotating cylinder

deflector at ω = 10 rad/s to ω = 50 rad/s.

maximum enhancement of 17% was achieved with an angular velocity

Fig. 15. Comparison of Cm at different TSR values for rotating cylinder
deflector at ω = 1 rad/s to ω = 7 rad/s.
of 7 rad/s at TSR = 1.3. Figs. 17 and 18 illustrate the effect of high
angular velocities of the rotating cylinder deflector on the average Cm
and Cp. It can be shown that increasing angular velocity over 30 rad/s
improved turbine performance even at low TSRs. However, increasing
the angular velocity from 40 rad/s to 50 rad/s had no significant effect
on the average Cm and Cp. The highest improvement in Cp was found to
be up to 33% for TSR = 1.3 with ω = 40 rad/s.
It is necessary to identify the angle of rotation at which the highest
instantaneous torque coefficient occurs before presenting the pressure
and velocity contours. In Fig. 19, the instantaneous torque coefficient
(Cm) versus rotation angle with rotating and stationary cylinder de­
flectors compared with the case of without a deflector at TSR = 1.3 to
demonstrate how a rotating cylinder produces torque augmentation. In
this comparison, the angular velocity of the rotating cylinder deflector is
equal to 40 rad/s, which generated the highest improvement. It is worth
noting that all of the cases featured two cycles in a single rotor

10
E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

0.36 revolution. When the findings were compared, it was determined that
Without deflector
both stationary and rotating deflectors create a larger positive torque
ω=10 rad/s
0.34 coefficient than the case without deflectors. It is obvious from this figure
ω=20 rad/s
that using stationary and rotating deflectors, significant improvements
ω=30 rad/s
0.32
ω=40 rad/s in torque coefficient are predicted for 90◦ < θ < 180◦ and 270◦ < θ <
ω=50 rad/s 360◦ . When compared to the stationary deflector, the rotating deflector
0.3 provided a higher positive torque coefficient. Furthermore, at 120◦ and
300◦ , the rotating cylinder deflector was found to have higher peaks of
0.28 instantaneous torque coefficient.
Cp

0.26
4.2. Flow structure
0.24
In order to fully comprehend the impact of stationary and rotating
0.22 deflectors (ω = 40 rad/s) on the performance of drag-type Savonius
rotor; pressure, velocity, and turbulent intensity contours are presented
0.2 at θ = 300◦ , where the greatest Cm is achieved. At TSR = 1.3, Fig. 20
provides a comparative evaluation of pressure fields around the Savo­
0.18
nius rotor with and without deflectors. The high-pressure region on the
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
TSR concave side of the advancing blade and the low-pressure region on the
convex side of the advancing blade contribute to the formation of more
Fig. 18. Comparison of Cp at different TSR values for rotating cylinder positive pressure, which affects the turbine’s performance. By utilizing
deflector at ω = 10 rad/s to ω = 50 rad/s. deflectors, the pressure magnitudes on the concave surface of the
advancing blade were observed to be greater than when neither
deflector was used. This led to a higher drag coefficient, which results in
1.2
Without deflector an enhancement of the overall performance. The incoming flow initially
With stationary deflector influenced the convex surface of returning blade, transferring mo­
1
Average cm=0.171 With rotating deflector mentum to the front part of the blade thus increasing pressure. When the
0.8 air passed over the upper section of the surface, the pressure in the
Average cm=0.224 mentioned area decreased. The lower-energy air finally interacted with
0.6 the advancing blade, raising the pressure on the concave surface
marginally. Therefore, a high-pressure region can be seen on the
0.4 concave side and a low-pressure zone can be visible on the convex
surface [19]. The pressure difference on both surfaces produced a strong
Cm

0.2 positive torque, which was utilized for driving the Savonius rotor. The
stationary and rotating cylinder deflectors apparently caused positive
0 pressure to increase on the concave side of the advancing blade and
minimize on the convex side of returning blade. This behavior is quan­
-0.2
titively compared for advancing and returning blades in Fig. 21. Looking
-0.4 particularly into zone 1 of both deflectors reveals a substantial negative
Average cm=0.168
pressure using a rotating cylinder deflector. This deflector with high
-0.6 angular velocity (ω = 40 rad/s) allows a substantial part of incoming
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360 flow with high-velocity magnitude to divert to the concave surface of the
Rotation angle/degree advancing blade to augment the positive pressure, especially at the tip of
the advancing blade, as presented quantitively in Fig. 21a. Furthermore,
Fig. 19. Variations of Cm for Savonius rotor using rotating and stationary
the high pressure on the convex side was significantly reduced by the
cylinder deflectors at TSR = 1.3.
rotating cylinder deflector, as shown in Fig. 21b. This desirable
behavior, along with the decrement of pressure on the convex side of

Fig. 20. Effect of rotating and stationary cylinder deflectors on the pressure distribution at TSR = 1.3.

11
E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

100 The previously mentioned reason for the quantitative findings repre­
Without deflector sented in Fig. 19 is supported by this qualitative data. The incoming
80 a)
With stationary deflector wind traveled upward and downward along the deflector surface due to
60
With rotating deflector the shape of the cylinder deflector and then separated at the top and
40
Concave side bottom. Previous studies employing a conventional deflector reported
20 similar behavior [1,2,30].
0 A high-intensity turbulence zone formed behind the stationary cyl­
Static pressure (Pa)

-20 inder deflector as a consequence of the flow separation. Hence, the

separated airflow traveled to a low-pressure zone bordered by the
-40
deflector and turbine gap, raising the pressure in that zone. Because of
-60 the increased drag caused by the pressure on returning blade, the power
Convex side
-80 performance was reduced. When a rotating cylinder deflector is used,
-100 the turbulent diffusion is obviously observed. This deflector minimized
-120 turbulence intensity by diverting the flow beneath the bottom side of
returning blade, reducing the high pressure on the blades. Note that this
-140
turbulent zone is difficult to be captured numerically due to the nu­
-160 merical diffusion [57,58]. The vortical structures in this simulation are
-180 also known to be very challenging in numerically predicting them [59],
-0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 but the predicted turbulent and vortical results herein are reasonably
Position (m) accurate.
The velocity field is critical for gaining a better understanding of the
flow dynamics of the rotor. In Fig. 23, the effect of rotating and sta­
40 tionary cylinder deflectors on the streamline patterns around the
b) Without deflector Savonius rotor at TSR = 1.3 is demonstrated which is colored by the
30
With stationary deflector magnitude of velocity. As the Savonius rotor rotates, it develops two key
20 With rotating deflector zones: a high-velocity zone and the wake-zone. The Savonius turbine
10 blades with and without deflector formed a high-velocity zone at the tip
0
of the advancing blade side. Similarly, the wake-zone develops on the
wind turbine blade’s downstream side in all cases. Incoming wind flow
Static pressure (Pa)

-10 was deflected toward the advancing blade instead of impinging on the
-20 convex side of returning blade by installing a cylinder deflector in front
-30 Convex side of the rotor. As a result, the negative torque produced by returning blade
was predicted to be reduced, while the positive torque made by the
-40
advancing blade would be increased. Another remarkable finding was
-50 the formation of a vortical structure behind the stationary cylinder
-60 deflector. Although this deflector deflected the flow toward the
advancing blade, the flow separation over the deflector generated huge
-70
and strong vortices, causing the flow to be unstable, which negatively
-80 Concave side influenced the returning blade. Using a rotating cylinder deflector with a
-90 high angular velocity (ω = 40 rad/s) eliminated the recirculation zone,
-0.4 -0.35 -0.3 -0.25 -0.2 -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 resulting in a steady flow. Furthermore, the rotating cylinder deflector
Position (m) accelerated the incoming airflow toward the advancing blade and the
bottom part of returning blade with a higher velocity magnitude. These
Fig. 21. Comparison of the pressure distributions on a) advancing blade and b)
are the major reasons for increasing the power of the drag-type Savonius
returning blade.
rotor by utilizing a rotating cylinder deflector.

returning blade, was the major cause of the increased Cm value of the
4.3. Energy consumption
rotating cylinder deflector, and this was greater than that of the Savo­
nius rotor.
The aforementioned discussions have clearly proven that using the
Fig. 22 depicts the distribution of turbulent intensity of airflow
rotating cylinder deflector significantly intensified the performance of
around the Savonius rotor utilizing rotating and stationary cylinder
the Savonius rotor over a wide range of TSRs. When compared to a
deflectors at TSR = 1.3. The mentioned figure thoroughly illustrates the
stationary cylinder deflector, however, external energy is required to
benefit of utilizing a rotating cylinder deflector with an angular velocity
rotate the cylinder deflector. In this case, the system’s energy con­
of 40 rad/s in eliminating the wake zone behind the cylinder deflector.
sumption should be investigated in order to quantify the net output
According to Fig. 21, the absence of a cylinder deflector upstream of
torque for practical application. Figs. 24 and 25 demonstrate the torque
returning blade allowed the wind flow to completely contact with
of the rotating cylinder deflector as well as the torque of the turbine after
returning blade, enhancing the drag force because of the pressure on this
using this deflector at TSR = 0.6 and TSR = 1.3. Afterward, the system’s
blade. As a result, the drag force difference between the rotor blades was
net torque was calculated by deducting the torque consumed by the
decreased, causing a drop in torque and power coefficients. Because
rotating cylinder deflector. The torque consumed by the rotating cylin­
there was no deflector upstream of returning blade, as described in
der deflector with an angular velocity<7 rad/s was lower than the
Fig. 22, the incoming wind flow immediately affected the returning
enhanced torque of the Savonius wind turbine. At TSR = 0.6, the net
blade, intensifying the drag force because of pressure on this blade. As a
torques of stationary and rotating cylinder deflectors were 4.83 N.m and
result, the drag force differential between turbine blades was decreased,
5.15 N.m, respectively. The rotating cylinder deflector with an angular
resulting in a deduction in the torque and power coefficients. The cyl­
velocity of 3 rad/s increased net torque by 14% compared to without
inder deflector prevented incoming wind flow from influencing return­
deflector case, which was 50% more than the stationary deflector
ing blade, thereby enhancing the turbine blade’s drag force differential.
improvement.

12
E. Fatahian et al.
Fig. 22. Distribution of turbulent intensity around the wind turbine using rotating and stationary cylinder deflectors at TSR = 1.3.
Table 5 presents a comparison of the cost of design for drag-driven
Savonius turbine, lift-driven H-rotor vertical axis wind turbine
(VAWT), and horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). Due to the limita­
tion of available data in the literature, it should be noted that the costs
for lift-driven VAWTs and HAWTs are of different operating conditions
and scales. In this study, the cost of design ($/kWh) was obtained ac­
cording to the equation suggested by Mathew [60]. Since the Savonius-
based standalone power system will be free of grid connection, land rent,
and wind turbine operating and maintenance costs, therefore, the cost of
generation may be estimated using Savonius rotor only capital cost. It
can be predicted that there is not much difference in terms of
manufacturing cost between the stationary cylinder deflector and the
flat plate deflector. Although the cost of the system that can be utilized
to rotate the cylinder deflector with a higher angular velocity would be
expensive, a lower angular velocity for the rotating cylinder deflector
could reduce the external energy as well as the cost of application. Ac­
cording to this figure, the Savonius wind turbine having a rotating cyl­
inder deflector produced the highest cost of design that was 2 times of
without deflector case. 18% increment of the cost of the design was
expected for the stationary cylinder deflector compared to the without
deflector case while using the rotating cylinder deflector with low
angular velocity enhanced the cost of design up to 27%.
The comparison between different turbines highlights that the
Savonius turbine has a lower cost of design even when using a deflector
system. The cost of design for the present deflector system with high
angular velocity is approximately 9.5 times lower than the cost of design
for a Lift-driven H-rotor turbine without deflector as reported by Saeidi
et al. [61]. The HAWT is the most expensive turbine among all of the
compared turbines.
13
Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453
4.4. Comparison with lift driven VAWT
Table 6 presents the specifications of the deflector system used in
previous lift and drag-driven VAWTs performance studies. Different
deflectors were utilized throughout each study reported in the literature.
Comparing the results of CPmax revealed that the drag-driven turbine
produced greater values compared to the lift-driven turbine at equal
TSR. The drag-type Savonius wind turbine generally has higher output
power than lift-driven VAWT, especially at low TSRs. Although the
proposed deflector system with a rotating cylinder deflector enhanced
the power coefficient at all TSRs, the maximum improvement was ob­
tained up to 33%.
5. Conclusion
The benefits of using a rotating cylinder deflector compared to a
stationary one were thoroughly discussed in the present research. To
determine the best case to improve the performance of a Savonius rotor,
various configurations for the stationary and rotating cylinder deflectors
were examined. CFD tools were used to perform the numerical simula­
tions. To estimate the turbulent flow field, URANS equations were
solved numerically using the finite volume approach in conjunction with
the SST k-ω turbulence model. The average Cm and Cp against TSR were
compared to the experimental findings of Sheldahl et al. [29], which
confirmed the accuracy and reliability of the present numerical
solutions.
The following are the present study’s main results:.
E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

Fig. 23. Streamline patterns and velocity fields around Savonius wind turbine.

30 8 30 6
4.51 4.83 5.13 5.15 4.47
28 2.61 28 2.08 2.12 2.17 2.18 1.71
4 2
26 0.88
26
24 0
24 -0.06 -2
-1.59
Deflector and turbine torques (N.m)

Deflector and turbine torques (N.m)

22 -4 22
-2.64
-6
20 20 -5.04
-8
Deflector torque -7.31
Net torque (N.m)

18

Net torque (N.m)

18 Deflector torque -10
Turbine torque
-12 Turbine torque -9.62
16 Net torque 16
Net torque -14
14 -13.05 14
-16
-15.29
12 12 -18
-20
10 10
-21.15 -22
8 -24 8
-23.38
6 6 -26
-28
4 4
-32 -30
2 2
0 -36 0 -34
ctor nary 1 3 5 7 10 20 30 40 50 tor ry 1 3 5 7 10 20 30 40 50
defle Statio flec tationa
t t de S
hou hou Angular velocity (rad/s)
Wit Angular velocity (rad/s) Wit

Fig. 24. Comparison of net torque of the system at TSR = 0.6. Fig. 25. Comparison of net torque of the system at TSR = 1.3.

• It was concluded that the angular velocity, the diameter of the cyl­ • By using the rotating cylinder deflector with ω = 40 rad/s, the
inder, and the distance of the deflector are key factors to attain the highest improvement in Cp was found to be up to 33% for TSR = 1.3.
highest level of performance for the drag-type Savonius rotor. • It was concluded that with the help of using stationary and rotating
• The maximum enhancement was obtained when the cylinder deflectors, significant improvements in the instantaneous torque
deflector was positioned at Lx/D = 1.4 and Ly/D = 0.5 with a coefficient were predicted for 90◦ < θ < 180◦ and 270◦ < θ < 360◦ .
diameter of dc/D = 0.75. • Analyzing the flow structures demonstrated that both rotating and
• Although the stationary cylinder deflector augmented the perfor­ stationary cylinder deflectors redirected the wind flow to the
mance of the Savonius rotor, the rotating cylinder deflector per­ concave side of the advancing blade while preventing it from
formed better than the stationary one at all TSRs. impinging on the convex side of the returning blade. Thus, the

14
E. Fatahian et al. Energy Conversion and Management 257 (2022) 115453

Table 5 • Aside from reducing high pressure on the blade, the lower turbulence
A comparison of the design costs taken into account. intensities shown in the results have the potential to prevent high
Type of turbines Type of deflectors References Cost of noise generation by the turbine blades as well.
design • The comparison between the performance improvement of the
($/kWh) Savonius wind turbine using the present novel deflector system and
Drag-driven Without deflector Present study 0.0033 the ducted system together with a Fluid-Structure-Interaction (FSI)
Savonius study can be done as future work, though an FSI work of a simple
(VAWT) Savonius turbine with increasing rotor size has just been done [65].
Drag-driven Flat plate deflector Mohamed et al. 0.0038
Savonius [20]
(VAWT)
Drag-driven Porous deflector Nimvari et al. 0.0052
Savonius [19] CRediT authorship contribution statement
(VAWT)
Drag-driven Stationary cylinder Present study 0.0039
Esmaeel Fatahian: Investigation, Methodology, Visualization,
Savonius deflector
(VAWT) Software, Validation, Resources, Writing – original draft. Farzad Ismail:
Drag-driven Rotating cylinder Present study 0.0042 Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Supervision, Project administra­
Savonius deflector (low angular tion, Writing – review & editing. Mohammad Hafifi Hafiz Ishak:
(VAWT) velocity) Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Funding acquisition, Writing –
Drag-driven Rotating cylinder Present study 0.0061
Savonius deflector (high angular
review & editing. Wei Shyang Chang: Conceptualization, Supervision,
(VAWT) velocity) Writing – review & editing.
Lift-driven H- Without deflector Saeidi et al. [61] 0.058
rotor (VAWT)
Large-scale Without deflector Mostafaeipour 0.18 Declaration of Competing Interest
HAWT et al. [62]

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial

interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
Table 6 the work reported in this paper.
Comparison of using deflector for lift and drag-driven VAWTs.
Reference Type of Type of TSR CPmax Maximum Acknowledgment
deflector turbine improvement

Wong et al. Flat deflector Lift-driven 0.96 0.052 7% This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education
[4] H-rotor
(MoHE) Malaysia for Fundamental Research Grant Scheme with Project
Kim and Upstream flat Lift-driven 1.23 0.101 26%
Gharib deflector H-rotor Code: FRGS/1/2019/TK07/USM/02/3 and the Research Fellow (GiG)
[63] funding by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
Kerikous and Thick flat Drag- 1.2 0.24 15%
Thevenin deflector driven
[64] Savonius
References
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cylinder driven [1] Wong KH, Chong WT, Poh SC, Shiah Y-C, Sukiman NL, Wang C-T. 3D CFD
deflector Savonius simulation and parametric study of a flat plate deflector for vertical axis wind
turbine. Renewable Energy 2018;129:32–55.
[2] Chong W-T, Muzammil WK, Ong H-C, Sopian K, Gwani M, Fazlizan A, et al.
Performance analysis of the deflector integrated cross axis wind turbine.
pressure that is more positive was produced and the output power of Renewable Energy 2019;138:675–90.
the turbine was increased. [3] Kouloumpis V, Sobolewski RA, Yan X. Performance and life cycle assessment of a
• A high-intensity turbulence zone formed behind the stationary cyl­ small scale vertical axis wind turbine. J Cleaner Prod 2020;247:119520. https://
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