Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) are great candidates for enabling wind power extraction in urban and off-shore applications. Unlike the commonly known horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT), VAWTs spin perpendicular to the wind rather than parallel.
VAWTs have a slower rotation speed and are less noisy than HAWTs. They also achieve greater wind energy density and require less space for the same output, making them suitable for both on- and off-shore installations. Additionally, VAWTs are known to be more wildlife-friendly as their lateral rotation makes it easier for birds to avoid the blades.
Despite all these advantages over traditional horizontal-axis turbines, they are not widely used in today’s wind energy market.
According to Sébastien Le Fouest, a researcher in EPFL‘s School of Engineering Unsteady Flow Diagnostics Lab (UNFOLD), it is due to an engineering problem – air flow control. He believes that this problem can…
