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The experimental campaigns are part of the European Innovative Training Network (ITN) AEOLUS4FUTURE Efficient Harvesting of the Wind Energy. The project is funded by the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 643167.

Analysis of institutional authors

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September 27, 2022
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Understanding the Aerodynamic Behavior and Energy Conversion Capability of Small Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Turbines in Turbulent Flows

Publicated to:Energies. 13 (11): 2936- - 2020-06-01 13(11), DOI: 10.3390/en13112936

Authors: Balduzzi, Francesco; Zini, Marco; Carbo Molina, Andreu; Bartoli, Gianni; De Troyer, Tim; Runacres, Mark C; Ferrara, Giovanni; Bianchini, Alessandro

Affiliations

Univ Firenze, Dept Civil & Environm Engn DICEA, Via Santa Marta 3, I-50139 Florence, Italy - Author
Univ Firenze, Dept Ind Engn DIEF, Via Santa Marta 3, I-50139 Florence, Italy - Author
Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Aerosp Syst & Transport Res Grp, Camino Molino S-N, Madrid 28943, Spain - Author
Vrije Univ Brussel, Thermo & Fluid Dynam FLOW, Pl Laan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium - Author

Abstract

Small Darrieus vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have recently been proposed as a possible solution for adoption in the built environment as their performance degrades less in complex and highly-turbulent flows. Some recent analyses have even shown an increase of the power coefficient for the large turbulence intensities and length scales typical of such environments. Starting from these insights, this study presents a combined numerical and experimental analysis aimed at assessing the physical phenomena that take place during the operation of a Darrieus VAWT in turbulent flows. Wind tunnel experiments provided a quantification of the performance variation of a two-blade VAWT rotor for different levels of turbulence intensity and length scale. Furthermore, detailed experiments on an individual airfoil provided an estimation of the aerodynamics at high turbulence levels and low Reynolds numbers. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were used to extend the experimental results and to quantify the variation in the energy content of turbulent wind. Finally, the numerical and experimental inputs were synthetized into an engineering simulation tool, which can nicely predict the performance of a VAWT rotor under turbulent conditions.

Keywords

AerodynamicsCfdCfd simulationsComputational fluid dynamicsComputational fluid dynamics simulationsDarrieusEnergy conversionEngineering simulationExperimentsImpactInstallationLow reynolds numberNumerical and experimental analysisPerformancePerformance variationsReynolds numberRooftopTurbulenceTurbulence intensityTurbulent flowVawtVertical axis wind turbinesWind tunnel experimentWind tunnelsWind turbines

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Energies due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Control and Optimization. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q3 for the agency WoS (JCR) in the category Energy & Fuels.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 2.3, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-07, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 11
  • Scopus: 13

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-07:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 54.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 58 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.75.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Belgium; Italy.