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Enhancing oscillations of bladeless wind energy harvesters with a downstream obstacle for bluff body

Author

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  • Afsharfard, Aref
  • Shahsavari, Amirreza
  • Chen, Guanbin
  • Chen, Wen-Li
  • Kim, Kyung Chun

Abstract

This study introduces a novel and efficient Bladeless Wind Energy Harvester (BWEH). The system is composed of a “Recti-Generator”, a combination of a mechanical rectifier, flywheel, and generator, which is connected to a circular bluff body attached to a flexible beam. The efficiency of the Recti-Generator was determined to be over 69 %. To enhance the oscillations of the bluff body and thereby increase the efficiency of the BWEH, a downstream obstacle was employed. Flow visualization reveals that the obstacle suppresses vortex shedding, causing the vortices to merge with subsequent ones and resulting in large-amplitude, low-frequency galloping. The performance of the system when embedded in an atmospheric boundary layer was experimentally investigated. Experiments were conducted in a closed-return, large-scale subsonic wind tunnel, in which different layouts of BWEH assemblies were analyzed. The Reynolds number, based on the cylinder diameter, ranged from Re = 1.7 × 104 to 4.3 × 104. The inclusion of the downstream obstacle induces a galloping phenomenon, increasing the single-unit power coefficient (Cp) from an average of 0.25 %–15.47 %. In multi-unit configurations, a triangle (▲) layout proved optimal, achieving an average Cp of 24.0 %, demonstrating high efficiency at low operational wind speeds (2.5–4 m/s) suitable for urban environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Afsharfard, Aref & Shahsavari, Amirreza & Chen, Guanbin & Chen, Wen-Li & Kim, Kyung Chun, 2025. "Enhancing oscillations of bladeless wind energy harvesters with a downstream obstacle for bluff body," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:337:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225043567
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.138714
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    References listed on IDEAS

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