Condition Based Monitoring of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Scarcity of fossil fuels and a rapid escalation in the fuel prices around the world recently has lead the search for alternative energy sources. Out of the available energy sources, wind is being considered as the prime next generation energy source. The fundamental principle of wind turbines is to convert the wind energy into first mechanical and then into electrical form. The relatively simple operation of such turbines has stirred the researchers to come up with innovative designs for global acceptance and to make these turbines commercially viable. Furthermore, the maintenance of wind turbines has long been a topic of interest. On-line health monitoring of wind turbines is essential to maintain continuous operation of wind turbines. The present work focuses on the difference in the outputs of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) under different operational conditions. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique has been used to monitor various blade conditions of a VAWT. The results indicate that there is significant degradation in the performance output of wind turbines as the number of blades broken or missing from the VAWT increases. The study predicts the faults in the blades of VAWTs by monitoring its output.