Abstract

Magnus wind turbine is a wind turbine that uses Magnus effect to generate electricity. Magnus wind turbine is wind turbine that uses Magnus effect to generate electricity. Magnus wind turbines are unique wind turbine systems that rotate with cylinders instead of using the more common propeller-type blades. In previous study, the lift force was measured by using three models (cylinder with no fins, cylinder with straight fins and cylinder with spiral fins) in a wind tunnel testing and it was confirmed that the high lift force was generated by the cylinder with spiral fins. However, the effect of spiral fins on the flow field has not yet been clarified. In this study, in order to investigate the effect of spiral fins on three-dimensional flow field, the fluid force measurements and flow visualization were performed. The spiral fin causes the spanwise flow attached to the surface of the rotating cylinder and this three-dimensional flow enhances the Magnus effect.