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In this paper we investigated numerically the dynamic stall phenomenon and the possibilities to control it, with application to vertical axis wind turbines (for urban users). The Phenomenon appear at low tip speed ratio (TSR<4) and it has a great impact on structural integrity of the wind turbine and power performances. For this reason we performed a computational study of dynamic stall around NACA 0012 airfoil in pitching motion at relative low Reynolds number (-105). Also, we performed the same analysis for four flow control methods: two passive (Gurney flap and slot) and two active (blowing jet on the rounded trailing edge and synthetic jet periodically activated). The Results are compared to those of an existing experimental case test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self- starting is the major obstacle to be overcome for successful design of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). In the past has been suggested that pitching the turbine blades such that pitch angle is not 90 degrees allows for self-starting. To understand the physics surrounding pitching, an analysis is carried out for a common airfoil profile, NACA 0012. The vortex model is used to predict aerodynamic performance of VAWT with pitched blades at various angles. As a result of the analysis carried out for the airfoil at various pitch angles, it was shown that the 'dead band' phenomenon could be overcome, but only slightly. At the same time, to overcome the 'dead band' with a level on confidence, torques in the tip speed ratio (TSR ) range of 0.75 to 2.75 must be increased to values further above zero. The paper aimed at giving an insight into the small wind turbine starting behavior and its influence parameters. (© 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]