Development of High-Performance Wind Turbine with Brimmed Diffuser

Abstract

We have developed a new wind turbine system that consists of a diffuser with a broad-ring brim at the exit periphery and a conventional wind turbine inside it. The new wind turbine has demonstrated power augmentation for a given turbine diameter and wind speed by a factor of about 2–3 compared with a bare wind turbine. This is because a very low-pressure region due to strong vortex formation behind the broad brim draws more mass flow to a turbine inside the diffuser.