W IND E NGINEERING VOLUME 35, N O .

4, 2011

PP

465-482

465

A Model to Account for the Virtual Camber Effect in

the Performance Prediction of an H-Darrieus VAWT
Using the Momentum Models
Alessandro Bianchini, Ennio A. Carnevale, Lorenzo Ferrari*
Sergio Stecco Department of Energy Engineering, University of Florence, Via di Santa Marta 3,
50139, Florence, Italy,Tel. +39 055 4796570, Fax: +39 055 4796342
Alessandro Bianchini: bianchini@vega.de.unifi.it
Ennio A. Carnevale: carnevale@vega.de.unifi.it
Lorenzo Ferrari*: ferrari@vega.de.unifi.it
Web: http://vega.de.unifi.it

ABSTRACT
This study reports an investigation on the influence of the virtual camber effect on the
performance prediction of an H-Darrieus VAWT using a theoretical approach based on the
Momentum Models.
In detail, a simplified model is proposed which highlights a limit point below which the
virtual camber effect must be neglected to correctly evaluate the performance of the
airfoils. This correction provides a more accurate description of the unstable region of the
power curve, for which very few in-depth studies are available. An accurate description of
the left side of the power curve is, however, of particular importance for a correct prediction
of the self-starting capabilities of the rotor, which are presently considered as a decisive
requirement for small-power machines. On this basis, the effects of the new virtual camber
estimation on the transient study of an H-Darrieus rotor are also presented here. This has
been carried out by means of a specifically developed numerical code.
All the theoretical conjectures and the numerical models have been validated with the
experimental data of two wind-tunnel campaigns on two different models of H-Darrieus
turbine.
Keywords: Darrieus, VAWT, virtual camber, airfoil, self-starting, transient, Momentum
Models

NOMENCLATURE
a

Induction Factor

Blade Chord

cP

Power Coefficient

nP

Number of statistical parameters

Generic Experimental Observation

Turbine Swept Area

AIC

Akaike Number

AR

Aspect Ratio of a blade

* = Contact Author

[m]

[m2]

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CL

Lift Coefficient

CD

Drag Coefficient

Cnorm

Normal Thrust Coefficient

Ctang

Tangential Thrust Coefficient

Cthrust

Thrust Coefficient

Turbine Diameter

[m]

Turbine Height

[m]

Blades Number

Ne

Number of Experimental Observations

Turbine Power

R2

Coefficient of Determination

RMSE

Root Mean Square Error

Turbine Torque

TSR

Tip Speed Ratio

Absolut Wind Velocity

[m/s]

UR

Relative Wind Velocity

[m/s]

[W]

[Nm]

Superscripts
*

Dimensionless Value

Subscripts
0

Initial Value

Relative

REF

Reference Value

Generic Streamtube

Wind

Greek letters

Incidence Angle

[deg]

Azimuthal Angle

[deg]

Air Density

[kg/m3]

Solidity

Blade Helix Angle

[deg]

1. INTRODUCTION
In current wind energy research, increasing efforts are being devoted to understanding
where these small-size wind turbines can effectively represent an alternative for a delocalized power production and an emissions reduction, particularly when applied in new
installation contexts (e.g. the built environment [1]), where the operating conditions can be
very diverse from those of conventional wind farms. Inter alia, H-type Darrieus turbines are
attracting interest due to the possibility of producing small machines with low visual impact
and almost no noise; as a result, these machines have experienced renewed attention, coupled
with a restart of both experimental and numerical research
H-Darrieus diffusion, however, is still hindered by their relatively poorer performance
when compared with that of more conventional HAWTs and particularly by their start-up and
transient behavior. Recently, this latter aspect has been considered as a particularly
important problem to solve for small wind turbines (see Refs. [2-5]), in which the use of a
motor/generator to enable the turbine start-up (like those used in the first Troposkien-bladed

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Darrieus turbines [6]) would imply a significant increase of the complexity of both the
mechanical apparatus and the control system. In addition, the use of a motor would have a
remarkable impact on the energy yield of the turbine at the low wind speeds.
Both the reduced efficiency and the lack of start-up capabilities can be connected to the
complex aerodynamics involved in the Darrieus rotor functioning, mainly caused by the fact
that the turbine has its rotational axis perpendicular to the oncoming airflow (i.e. both the
angle of attack and the relative velocity vary with the revolution angle). In addition, the
vortical structures that are created by the rotating blades interact with both the fixed and
rotating structures and with the downstream path of the blades themselves, having a notable
influence on the overall performance of the machine [7].
A further issue important for evaluating the performance of these machines is represented by
the curved path that is followed by the blades: in detail, the curved path causes a variation of the
real incidence angle on the airfoil (virtual incidence) and a variation in the flow field into which
the airfoil itself is immerged: this variation can be also described as a virtual variation of the airfoil
shape (virtual camber) (Migliore et al. [8]). To account for this effect, a counter-modification of
the camber line of the airfoils embedded on H-Darrieus turbines is often provided.
Although the virtual camber and virtual incidence effects have been extensively
discussed in technical literature (Refs. [3], [8] and [9]) by means of CFD techniques, their
description is generally limited to the working range of the turbines, while the effect on the
unstable region of the characteristic curve (i.e. for low rotational speeds) is purposefully
neglected. An accurate description of the machine behavior in this zone, however, can be
considered as a critical aspect in order to correctly evaluate both the start-up behavior and
the transient response of the machine itself.
Within this context, experimental tests were carried out in a wind tunnel on two HDarrieus models with two straight blades and three helix-shaped blades, respectively. The
experimental data have then been coupled with a theoretical investigation based on the
Momentum Models in order to quantify the effect of the virtual camber on the performance of
the turbines through the whole operating range. As a result, a simplified model is proposed
and its application to a numerical code for the performance prediction of the machine (both
with stationary and transient conditions) is presented.

2. NUMERICAL MODEL FOR PERFORMANCE PREDICTION

In order to carry out a theoretical analysis on Darrieus VAWTs performance, a numerical
model was developed, based on the turbine schematization with the Momentum Models.
Although the present state of the art offers several effective design tools (e.g. 2D vortex
models and 3D CFD - see Refs. [6-7]), a theoretical approach, based on the so-called Blade
Element Momentum (BEM) Theory, can provide some advantages under defined
circumstances, especially concerning the general design of a machine (e.g. overall
dimensions and attended power) and particularly when a reduction of the computational cost
is needed (Refs. [6] and [10]). These latter requirements are particularly relevant in
approaching the transient analysis of a turbine, in which the aerodynamic interactions must
be solved in each time step with a sensible increase of the computational efforts.
In a BEM approach, the thrust through the rotor, which is derived from the momentum
balance (Eqn. 1), is directly paired with the evaluation of the aerodynamic loads on the blades
of the machine with the well-known Eqns. 2 and 3:
C thrust =

2 AU 2a (1 a )
= 4a (1 a )
1 AU 2
2

(1)

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C thrust =

U R Hc C norm sin + C tang cos

AU 2

C norm = C L cos C D sin

C tang = C L sin C D cos

(2)

(3)

where is the air density, A is the swept area of the turbine, a is the induction factor, U and UR
are the absolute and relative velocity of the air flow, H and c are the height and chord of the
blades, CL and CD are the lift and drag coefficients of the airfoil for the present value of the
angle of attack, is the incidence angle and
is the revolution angle of the blade.
With this method, the influence of relevant design parameters can be estimated in a
straightforward manner, especially as regards the effect of the aerodynamic characteristics
of the airfoils, which are particularly critical in the evaluation of the virtual camber and the
virtual incidence. Furthermore, focusing on the analysis of a transitory, in which continuous
changes in the blade working conditions are implied, great advantages can nevertheless be
derived from the possibility of directly calculating the blade torque as a function on the
azimuthal position and the revolution speed of the rotor (Eqn. 4).
Tblade ( ) =

1
c
2

U
H

2
R

C tangr (h)dh

(4)

On this basis, the developed model (VARDAR code) makes use of a Double Multiple
Streamtubes (DMS) approach, as originally proposed by Paraschivoiu [11]. The calculation of
the induced velocities through the rotor exploits the principle of the two actuators disks in
tandem (Ref. [12]); as a result, different induction factors are found in the upwind and in the
downwind section of the turbine.
The variation in the interference factors with the azimuthal angle
is also considered (i.e.
the induced velocities change with respect to
) (DMSV approach [13] - Double Multiple
Streamtubes with Variable interference factors) (Figure 1).
The Glauerts correction for the BEM theory [14] has been taken into account with the most
recent improvements, based on experimental data [15], together with the corrections due to
blades finite Aspect Ratio, using the Lanchester-Prandtl model [16]. Several secondary effects
have been included in the performance analysis, as well, due to the note-worthy influence of
these contributions on the power output of small machines (Refs. [17] and [18]): in particular,
original models have been developed for the evaluation of the shadow effect of the central
tower and the estimation of the parasitic torque of the struts (Bianchini et al., [5] and [17]).
In order to increase the accuracy of the aerodynamic estimations, a specific sub model to
account for the dynamic stall has been provided, following the Paraschivoius adaptation to the

Figure 1: Schematization of the DMSV approach.

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DMS approach described in [6]; at the same time, the stream tube expansion along the flow path
was considered with the simplified scheme presented in Ref. [6], although its incidence on the
performance estimation of small turbines such as those investigated in this work is reduced.

3. EXPERIMENTAL CAMPAIGNS AND DATA ANALYSIS

3.1. Experimental models and facilities
Experimental tests were carried out by the authors using the facilities of the 3x3 m squared
section of the wind tunnel of the Federico II University in Naples (Italy): inside the gallery, a
maximum velocity of 50 km/h can be reached with a turbulence level of approximately 0.5%.
H-Darrieus models with either two straight blades (Figure 2, left) or three helix-shaped
blades Darrieus turbine (Figure 2, right), whose main characteristics are reported in Table 1
and Table 2, have been tested (for further details see Refs. [5] and [17]). Unfortunately, the real
three-bladed rotor, entirely built in plastic with shaped struts and a thinner tower, cannot be
shown here due to the industrial copyright with the industrial partner for whom the final
turbine has been developed.

Figure 2: Left: Two-bladed model; Right: Equivalent prototype of the three-bladed model.

Table 1: Main features of the two-bladed model.

Blades Number (N)

Blades Shape
Blades Airfoil
Diameter (D) [m]
Height (H) [m]
Chord (c) [m]
ARblade
Solidity (s)

straight
Transformed NACA0015
1.0
0.9
0.2
4.5
0.4
Table 2: Main features of the three-bladed model.

Blades Number (N)

Blades Shape
Blades Airfoil
Diameter (D) [m]
Height (H) [m]
Chord (c) [m]
ARblade
Solidity ()

helix (=60)
Transformed NACA0015
1.45
1.45
0.22
6.6
0.45

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Figure 3: Airfoils comparison: original NACA0015, transformed airfoil and NACA4415.

In both cases, the NACA0015 symmetric airfoil was selected as a good compromise in terms
of lift maximization and stall resistance (Refs. [6] and [19-21]). Following the guidelines
proposed by Migliore [8], a conformal transformation was applied to the airfoil: as a result, a
new cambered airfoil was designed (Figure 3).
Aerodynamic coefficients (i.e. lift and drag coefficients) of the cambered airfoil in the notstalled region were simulated with a quasi-3D numerical code developed by Prof. Arnone of
the University of Florence [22], whereas the coefficients in the stalled region were synthesized
from some experimental data (Refs. [23] and [24]) and extrapolations [3] proposed for the
NACA4415 airfoil, which can be considered as a very good approximation of the present airfoil
where it works as a bluff body.
In particular, it is worth noticing that an inverse approach was followed in designing the
blades. In order to have the NACA0015 as the working airfoil of the machine in the regime
operation, the blades were constructed following the transformed airfoil: by doing so, the
virtual camber effect reflected itself in a straightening of the geometric camber of the airfoil
(with reference to Figure 3, from the transformed airfoil to the NACA0015).
Finally, the models were tested inside the wind tunnel. The turbines were connected to an
electric motor/brake which was used to explore the entire power curve of the machines (i.e.
both the unstable and the stable halves of the curve); the torque and turbine revolution
velocities were measured with a high precision torque meter. The wind velocity range
between 3 m/s and 10 m/s was investigated: the proper corrections of the velocity modulus of
the oncoming flow on the turbine due to the section blockage (approximately 8.2% for the
two-bladed model and 12.5% for the three-bladed model) were applied, by taking into account
both the solid and the wake blockage, as prescribed by Refs. [25-26] in the case of complex
geometries (e.g. VAWTs).

3.2. Results and data analysis

First, the experimental data of the three-bladed rotor were compared with the numerical
estimations based on the VARDAR code using the aerodynamic coefficients (i.e. lift and drag
coefficients) of the symmetric NACA0015: virtual camber and virtual incidence corrections
were then applied over the whole power curve of the turbine. Upon examination of Figure 4,
where the data are presented in a dimensionless form (i.e. P*=P/PREF where PREF is the
attended nominal power at 12 m/s) to preserve the non-disclosure agreement with the
industrial partner, a notable agreement between the experimental results and the
numerically predicted data can be appreciated, especially if one considers the small

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Figure 4: Experimental vs. simulated data (Virtual Camber Correction applied) for the three-bladed
model: the comparison is made in terms of dimensionless power output (P*=P/PREF).
dimensions of the model. It is worth noticing that the acquisition of the 10 m/s curve had been
suspended due to structural problems of the plastic blades. In all the curves, however, a
discrepancy was found in the first part of the unstable region.
In addition, an inflection point was identified in the unstable zone (more evident in highwind speeds), which suggested the occurrence of a change in the aerodynamic performance.
The variation of the curve shape was then analyzed, leading to the hypothesis that the virtual
camber and virtual incidence corrections might affect the estimations. In particular, the
hypothesis was driven by another interesting point: the experimental data in the unstable part
of the curve surprisingly fitted the numerical estimations made without taking into account
the virtual camber effect (i.e. data obtained using the lift and drag coefficient of the
transformed airfoil in the simulation), as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Experimental vs. simulated data (Virtual Camber Effect not considered) for the three-bladed
model: the comparison is made in terms of a dimensionless power output (P*=P/PREF).

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4. THEORETICAL MODEL
4.1. Theoretical approach
In order to investigate the nature of the observed experimental trend, a theoretical analysis was
carried out: the aim of this analysis was to develop a model to assess a different evaluation of the
effect of the virtual camber in the unstable region. In detail, on the basis of the fact that the
effective distortion of the flow field around the airfoil is directly proportional to the turbine
rotational speed, a simplified hypothesis was proposed and analyzed: the virtual camber and
virtual incidence corrections have been neglected below a fixed rotational speed, whereas they
have been fully applied after a small transitory over this limit. As a consequence, the lift and drag
coefficients of the geometrical airfoil of the blade have been used for the performance prediction
of the turbine in the first part of its operating range, corresponding to low revolution speeds and
Reynolds numbers, whereas the lift and drag coefficients of the virtual airfoil deriving from the
conformal transformation by Migliore [8] have been used for the remaining operating range,
where the effect of the virtual camber is supposed to strongly affect the performance of the
airfoil itself. The virtual incidence was also considered and applied in this region.
For each wind velocity, the observed limit between the two regions was fixed in
correspondence to the moment (in terms of operating TSR) in which the time needed by a
particle of air, which is moving at the relative speed on the airfoil (UR), to cover the linear
length chord (Eqn. 5) becomes longer than the time needed by the turbine to sweep the
circular arc subtended to the blade chord itself (Eqn. 6).
chord
UR

(5)

angular sector subtended to chord

(6)

t1 =
t2 =

The choice of this limit point has been derived by an analogy with helicopter aerodynamics
(Refs. [9] and [27]). This limit point has been assumed as an indicator of the effective curvature
of the flow field crossed by the blade. Thus, with particular reference to the DMSV modeling
of the turbine, one can notice that the relative wind velocity considered for the calculation of
Eqn. 5 has been chosen to be the average (Eqn. 7) of the N streamtubes relative velocities (URj)
in the upwind half of the rotor.
N

UR =

Rj

j =1

(7)

Furthermore, in order to account for the virtual camber correction, the code has to be embedded
with the aerodynamic data of both the geometrical airfoil (i.e. the section of the blades) and the
virtual airfoil (i.e. the airfoil derived from the conformal transformation based on the flow
distortion due to rotation). Finally, in order to reconstruct the power curve, although a
progressive change in the virtual shape of the airfoil and then of its aerodynamic characteristics
must be supposed, a simplified transition by means of a linear interpolation is here proposed in
the curve after the transition point for a total amount of 0.5 points of TSR, due to the uncertainty
in the airfoils performance when the virtual camber effect starts to take place.

4.2. Model validation

In order to clearly explain the application of the proposed model, the cases of 6 m/d and 8
m/s, respectively, are here taken into account; on this basis, Figures 6 and 7 show the same

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Figure 6: Experimental and attended power curves for the three-bladed rotor with different theoretical
models @ Uw=6 m/s.

Figure 7: Experimental and attended power curves for the three-bladed rotor with different theoretical
models @ Uw=8 m/s.
experimental results of Figure 4. Three simulated power curves are reported in each
graph:

Case I represents the theoretical power estimation without taking into account the
virtual camber effect (i.e. the lift and drag coefficients of the geometric airfoil of the
blade are used)

Case II represents the estimation with the virtual camber correction always applied
(i.e. the lift and drag coefficients of the transformed airfoil are used)

Case III is the proposed numerical estimation based on the proposed quantification
of virtual camber effect.

The proposed approach for the virtual camber estimation is strongly supported by sound
experimental evidence.

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Figure 8: Experimental vs. simulated data (proposed model to account for the Virtual Camber Effect)
for the three-bladed model: dimensionless power.
As hypothesized above, a very good approximation is obtained for the right part of the
power curve if one considers only the aerodynamic data of the transformed airfoil (i.e. the real
airfoil that is seen by the flow during the revolution) while the performance would be
underestimated below the transition point. On the other hand, a poor estimation of the turbine
performance in the stable part of the curve is obtained using the geometrical profile data,
whereas a good description of the unstable part is reached.
The same effects are obtained for all the investigated wind velocities, as confirmed by
Figure 8 and 9, in which all the experimental data are compared with the numerical
estimations obtained with the VARDAR code and the proposed model for the evaluation of the
virtual camber effects in terms of dimensionless power and power coefficient, respectively.
The power coefficient is also presented in a dimensionless form, where cP_REF is the attended
power coefficient at 12 m/s.

Figure 9: Experimental vs. simulated data (proposed model to account for the Virtual Camber Effect)
for the three-bladed model: dimensionless power coefficient.

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The transition point is generally localized near TSR=1.5, however it is characterized by an

increasing trend with the wind velocity (i.e. the transition point is at TSR=1.30 @ 3 m/s,
TSR=1.50 @ 6 m/s, TSR=1.55 @ 8 and 10 m/s).
Three statistical indicators have been calculated to numerically quantify the
improvement in the power curve description that can be obtained using the proposed
approach. In particular, three theoretical estimations have been compared in terms of Root
Mean Square Error (RMSE) (Eqn. 8) [28], Coefficient of determination (R2) (Eqn. 9) [28], and
Akaike Number (AIC) (Eqn. 10) [29]:
N

RMSE =

(y

y^i )

(8)

i =1

Ne
N

R = 1

(y

y^i )2

i =1
N

(9)

(yi yi )2

i =1

AIC = N e log

y^i )2
+ 2n
P

Ne

(y
i =1

(10)

where Ne is the number of experimental points, nP is the number of the parameters used to
generate the predicted curve, the cup symbol represents the predicted value and the bar
symbol represents the averaged value. In particular, a corrected value of the Akaike number
is herein considered (AIC*), in which the second term of the sum in Eqn. 9 is neglected because
all the compared estimating curves are obtained with the same number of parameters.
In Tables 2 and 3 Case I, Case II and Case III are compared for the representative wind
velocities of 6 and 8 m/s analyzed in detail in Figures 6 and 7, respectively.
As one may also realize upon examination of the Figures 6 and 7, an improvement in the
power curve estimation can be obtained with the proposed approach for the quantification of
the virtual camber effect. In fact, Case III shows the highest values of the Coefficient of

Table 3: Theoretical approaches comparison @ Uw=6 m/s.

THEORETICAL
APPROACH
Case I
Case II
Case III

Whole Power Curve

Unstable Region

RMSE

R2

AIC*

RMSE

R2

AIC*

14
11
9

0.562
0.750
0.844

26.74
15.69
12.56

14
10
6

0.396
0.721
0.887

25.44
15.69
12.56

Table 4: Theoretical approaches comparison @ Uw=8 m/s.

THEORETICAL
APPROACH
Case I
Case II
Case III

Whole Power Curve

Unstable Region

RMSE

R2

AIC*

RMSE

R2

AIC*

55
13
9

0.099
0.926
0.962

41.86
26.95
23.43

21
15
10

0.804
0.901
0.954

30.13
18.89
16.01

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Table 5: Sensitivity analysis on the transition point @ Uw=6 m/s.

Whole Power Curve

Unstable Region

TRANSITION POINT
LOCATION

RMSE

R2

AIC*

RMSE

R2

AIC*

Anticipated of 0.50 TSR

PROPOSED
Delayed of 0.5 TSR

11
9
11

0.745
0.844
0.756

23.92
21.37
23.69

10
6
9

0.626
0.795
0.646

15.80
12.56
15.55

Table 6: Sensitivity analysis on the transition point @ Uw=8 m/s.

Whole Power Curve

Unstable Region

TRANSITION POINT
LOCATION

RMSE

R2

AIC*

RMSE

R2

AIC*

Anticipated of 0.50 TSR

Anticipated of 0.25 TSR
PROPOSED
Delayed of 0.25 TSR
Delayed of 0.5 TSR

13
12
9
11
13

0.930
0.944
0.962
0.951
0.931

26.62
25.47
23.43
24.73
26.57

15
13
10
12
15

0.908
0.928
0.954
0.938
0.909

18.64
17.73
16.01
17.13
18.60

Determination with reference to experimental measurements for any inquired wind velocity, as
well as the lowest values of the Root Mean Square Error. Finally, the Akaike criterion confirms
that the proposed curve is the best fitting curve available (i.e. it has the minimum AIC* value).
Furthermore, as expected on the basis of the theoretical analysis, one may notice that the
increase in the curve fitting is mainly concentrated in the unstable region, where the RMSE, with
respect to experimental data, is remarkably reduced and the R2 is consequently increased.
In addition, a sensitivity analysis has been performed on the same study cases in order to
validate the choice of the transition point. To this purpose, the airfoil data change has been
anticipated and delayed of 0.5 TSR in the 6 m/s case and of 0.25 TSR and 0.5 TSR in the 8 m/s
case, respectively. Tables 5 and 6 report the results of the sensitivity analysis.
The sensitivity analysis confirms that the choice of the transition point, made on the basis
of Eqns. 5 and 6, represents the best available solution in terms of accuracy in describing the

Figure 10: Experimental and attended power curves for the two-bladed rotor with different theoretical
models @ Uw=12.5 m/s.

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Figure 11: Experimental vs. simulated data (proposed model to account for the Virtual Camber Effect)
for the two-bladed model: dimensionless power.
power curve of the machine: the best fitting is reached with respect to the whole curve and
particularly to the unstable region.
On the basis of these results, the model for the virtual camber effect has been also applied
to the experimental data coming from the second test campaign on the two-bladed model,
specifically developed as a test case devoted to evaluating the aerodynamic performance of
the blades.
Due to other priorities in the overall test plan, during the tests on the two bladed model
only three wind velocities were investigated, equal to 6.0, 10.0 and 12.5 m/s, respectively.
The application of the model to this rotor is presented for the representative velocity of 12.5
m/s in Figure 10 (in the conventional dimensionless form): the advantages of this new
approach can be easily distinguished, especially in the last part of the left side of the curve.
With the same approach used for the three-bladed model, the experimental curves were
compared to the numerical expectations using the VARDAR code embedded with the new
virtual camber model (Figure 11) obtaining a consistent agreement, especially if one considers
the poor manufacturing of the model.

5. TIME-DEPENDENT ANALYSIS
Although no modifications are introduced by the new model in the description of the stable
part of the power curve, and therefore on the maximum rated power of the machine, a more
accurate evaluation of the left part of the curve can provide some relevant advantages in the
study of the transient and start-up behavior.
Within this context, a specific numerical model has been developed [5], devoted to
evaluating the time-dependent response of an H-Darrieus turbine under unsteady wind
conditions and initial state. In more detail, the application was conceived as a direct
subroutine of the main VARDAR code, in order to exploit its accurate description of the
aerodynamic flow field around the turbine.
The main code releases to the subroutine a set of matrixes, each of which contains the
overall torque value of a single blade as a function of the TSR and the azimuthal position for a
fixed wind velocity. Torque maps with the same structure are also created by the master code
for the overall parasitic torques that come primarily from the blades supports and the tie-rods.

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Starting from these parameters, the time-dependent code, instant by instant, solves the
equation of the uniformly accelerated motion, determining the net torque value (i.e. the overall
torque of the blades minus the overall parasitic torque) by an interpolation within the two
matrixes, corresponding to the actual wind velocity and using the values of the angle and TSR
calculated at the end of the previous iteration; in case of wind changes, a further interpolation
is required between the right matrixes of the wind velocity. Other effects can also be included
in the simulation, such as the parasitic torques of the bearings and the generator. As a result, the
start-up behavior of a generic turbine can be investigated as well as any other transient
phenomenon like wind gusts or slopes (for further details on the model see Ref. [5]).
The main advantages of this approach, compared to other proposed simulation tools
(Refs. [30] and [31]) is that very small computational efforts are required during the iterations
because the aerodynamic flow conditions on the blade in each time instant are no longer
solved during the iteration itself; in addition, a more accurate evaluation of both the
aerodynamics and the parasitic torque can be achieved by the exploitation of a fully
developed Double Multiple Streamtubes approach. Some precautions are still required
however: the transient study of such a complex machine is strongly dependent both on the
correct evaluation of the aerodynamic performance of the airfoils (i.e. lift and drag
coefficients in the 0360 range) and on the accurate description of the geometrical and
massive features (e.g. the momentum of inertia).
On the basis of these assumptions, the virtual camber effect has been taken into account in
the time-dependent simulations. The same theoretical approach, as used for the power curves,
is proposed; a torque matrix, created by the aerodynamic data of the geometrical airfoil, is
used for the TSR values below the transition point, over which a torque matrix based on the
aerodynamic data of the transformed profile is considered.

6. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS: TRANSIENT DATA

Several transient tests were performed in the wind tunnel only on the three-bladed turbine, which
represented a real pre-industrial prototype, with its final shape and building material (plastic).
During all the tests, the turbine was allowed to rotate freely around its axis (i.e. the
electrical system was disconnected in order to avoid any source of parasitic torque which
could not be numerically modeled with satisfactory accuracy). The revolution signal was
obtained by an optic sensor which was installed in front of the shaft base of the machine,
viewing a reflective strip positioned on the shaft itself; the reflective strip was related exactly
to the angular position of a master blade, in order to investigate the influence of the starting
angle of the turbine on the acceleration ramp. The velocity was measured with a Pitot tube
with a 1 Hz frequency: synchronism was provided between the acquisitions of the revolution
signal and the velocity in the wind tunnel.
Two start-up ramps of the model are presented in Figures 12 and 13, for a flow velocity in the
tunnel of 3.0 and 6.0 m/s, respectively.
0 represents the angular position of a selected
reference blade.
At this point, some relevant comments and remarks can be made. It is apparent that the
numerical predictions nicely fit the experimental data; a slight discrepancy between the predicted
and experimental values in the low revolution velocities range occurs only for the velocity of
3 m/s, mainly due to the lack of lift and drag coefficients data for these low-Reynolds cases. It is
worth pointing out, however, that the virtual camber correction has capital relevance in
performing a good numerical estimation.
As a comparison, the numerical results obtained without considering the virtual camber
(Case I) are shown in Figures 12 and 13 with a dotted line. In fact, if one does not correct the lift

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479

Figure 12: Start-up ramp @ Uw=3.0 m/s - 0=60.

and drag coefficients of the airfoils, a lower final revolution speed would be predicted because
of the differences in the torque curves (see above); in addition, particularly in the 3 m/s case,
errors in the estimation of the start-up time would have been induced.
Furthermore, if one had applied the virtual camber correction even in the first part of the
curve (i.e. always using the aerodynamic data of the transformed airfoil - Case II), no start-up

Figure 13 - Start-up ramp @ Uw=6.0 m/s - 0=60.

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Figure 14: Transient behavior of the model with a variable wind profile.
would have been simulated by the code due to the poor performance of the resulting
symmetric NACA0015 airfoil at low Reynolds numbers.
Finally, the approach validity was also verified by examining some transient responses of
the machine which was allowed to rotate freely in a variable speed wind current (e.g. see
Figure 14).
As shown in Fig. 14, the numerical previsions corrected for the virtual camber estimation
seem to perfectly fit the experimental data, also in the critical range of revolution speeds
(investigated in the test reported in Fig. 14) where the transition point is reached and the
correction is applied.

7. CONCLUSIONS
This paper reports a simplified model for the evaluation of the influence of the Virtual Camber
Effect on the performance prediction of an H-Darrieus VAWT using the Momentum Models. In
particular, a transition point, based on the flow field characteristics around the airfoil, has been
highlighted: below this point, the virtual camber effect must be neglected to ensure a more
realistic description of the first part of the characteristic curve of the machine.
Numerical models, based on a Double Multiple Streamtubes approach, have been
created to simulate the performance of the H-Darrieus turbine, both in the stationary and in
the transient operation: the proposed evaluation of the virtual camber effect has been
embedded and numerically modeled in the codes. All the theoretical conjectures and the
numerical models have been validated with extensive experimental campaigns in a wind
tunnel on two H-Darrieus models with three helix-shaped blades and two straight blades,
respectively.
A noteworthy agreement between experimental evidence and simulated data has been
constantly found; in particular, the proposed change in the virtual camber estimation seems to
represent a necessary condition for a correct description of the transient behavior of the
turbine, especially in the start-up phase.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks are due to Professor Andrea Arnone (Sergio Stecco Department of Energy
Engineering, University of Florence) for the helpful discussion and his precious contribution to
the aerodynamic study.

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