Unsteady Lift and Flow Field for Rotating Cylinder with a Fin for Magnus Wind Turbine

Abstract

A Magnus wind turbine having the rotating cylindrical blades with fins has a high performance. Previous studies have shown that the lift characteristics change depending on the fin shape. In this research, the fluid force and the flow field for a rotating cylinder with a straight fin were measured to understand the effect of a fin on the lift force fluctuation. The results showed that the vortices generated by a fin enhanced the circulation around the rotating cylinder with a straight fin. Therefore, the lift variation is affected by the vortices behavior.