DESIGN AND CFD-BASED PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A SMALL-SCALE HORIZONTAL AXIS WIND TURBINE FOR COASTAL LOW-WIND REGIONS

Abstract

The growing environmental and economic impacts of fossil fuels have intensified demand for renewable energy. Wind energy is one of the most popular renewable energy sources, particularly in coastal regions. This study presents the design and numerical analysis of a small-scale horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) intended for low-wind-speed applications. The turbine is designed for the coastal city of Hambanthota, Sri Lanka, where the average wind speed is 5 m/s. A wind turbine blade with a 5 m span was designed using NACA airfoil data and modelled in SOLIDWORKS. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed using SOLIDWORKS flow simulation. It is used to evaluate the turbine's aerodynamic performance. Key performance parameters, including torque and efficiency. To evaluate the blade's stress, strain, and displacement characteristics, the aerodynamic loads obtained from the CFD analysis were subsequently applied in a structural simulation. The results indicate effective wind energy extraction and acceptable structural performance under the selected operating conditions. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using CFD-based simulation as a preliminary design and performance evaluation tool for small-scale wind turbines suitable for coastal and low-wind-speed regions.