Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217

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Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Influence of the deflector plate on the performance of modified Savonius

water turbine
Kailash Golecha, T.I. Eldho, S.V. Prabhu ⇑
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Savonius rotor is simple in design and easy to fabricate at a lower cost. The basic driving force of Savonius
Received 20 November 2010 rotor is drag. The drag coefficient of a concave surface is more than the convex surface. Hence, the
Received in revised form 12 February 2011 advancing blade with concave side facing the water flow would experience more drag force than
Accepted 20 March 2011
the returning blade, thus forcing the rotor to rotate. Net driving force can be increased by reducing the
Available online 13 April 2011
reverse force on the returning blade. This can be realized by providing flow obstacle to the returning
blade. The objective of the present work is to find out the optimal position of the deflector plate upstream
Keywords:
to the flow which would result in maximum power generated by the rotor. Experimental investigations
Modified Savonius rotor
Coefficient of power
are carried out to study the influence of the location of the deflector plate on the performance of a mod-
Coefficient of torque ified Savonius rotor with water as the working medium at a Reynolds number of 1.32  105. Eight differ-
Deflector plate ent positions of the deflector plate are attempted in this study. Results conclude that deflector plate
placed at its optimal position increases the coefficient of power by 50%. Maximum coefficient of power
is found to be 0.21 at a tip speed ratio of 0.82 in the presence of deflector plate. Two stage and three stage
modified Savonius rotors are tested to study the influence of deflector plate at the optimal position. Max-
imum coefficient of power improves by 42%, 31% and 17% with deflector plate for two stage 0° phase shift,
90° phase shift and three stage modified Savonius rotor respectively.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction to horizontal axis water turbines. Savonius turbine, helical turbine,

Water current turbines generate electricity using the kinetic en-
ergy of natural water resources using different types of rotors.
These rotors are fixed to a structure on the riverside or on floating
pontoons. Hydro-kinetic turbine electricity generation is mainly
aimed for rural use at sites remote from existing electricity grids.
It is a useful tool for improving the quality of life of people in these
locations and for stimulating local economies. These turbines also
can be considered for the wide variety of application like tides,
marine currents, channel flows and water flows from industrial
processes. Different designs of water current turbine are available
for the extraction of energy from the river water or canals. Based
on the alignment of the rotor axis with respect to water flow,
two generic classes exist. They are horizontal axis turbine (axial
turbines) and vertical axis turbine (cross flow turbines). Horizontal
axis turbines are mainly used for extraction of the ocean energy.
These turbines are expensive for small power applications. Vertical
turbines generally used for small scale power generation amd
these are less expensive and required less maintenance compared
⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology, Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, India. Tel.: +91
2225767515; fax: +91 22 25726875.
E-mail address: svprabhu@iitb.ac.in (S.V. Prabhu).
Darrieus turbine and H-shaped Darrieus are commonly used verti-
cal axis turbines.
Various types of water current turbines are being installed and
tested worldwide for various ranges of powers. GCK technology
limited (USA), installed a Gorlov helical water turbine (diameter
of 1 m and height of 2.5 m) in the Uldolomok Strait off the coast
of Korea. Similarly Verdant Power Ltd. (USA) installed a three
bladed horizontal axis water turbine as free flow turbine in east
river New York [1]. Alternative Hydro Solutions Ltd. in Ontario
has developed vertical axis turbines specifically meant to harness
the water energy from river [2]. Literature suggests that there is
a gaining of popularity for water turbines [3–5].
Horizontal axis turbines are common in tidal energy converters
and majority of marine current turbines are horizontal axis turbine
[6]. They are very similar to modern day wind turbines from design
and structural point of view. In the vertical axis turbines domain,
the Darrieus turbines, Savonius turbine and Gorlov helical water
turbines are generally used. The Gorlov turbine has the blades of
helical structure. Gorlov [7] proposed a new helical turbine to con-
vert kinetic energy of flowing water into electrical or mechanical
energy. The advantage of this device is that it reduces the relative
diameter of the rotor while simultaneously increasing the length of
the blade. Their results suggested that maximum coefficient of
power of helical turbine is around 0.35. Savonius turbines are drag

0306-2619/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.03.025
3208 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217

Nomenclature


a overlap distance (mm) TSR tip speed ratio, 0:5UxD
B blockage ratio (HD/HwW) U free stream velocity (m/s)
Cp coefficient of power (2Tx/qU3DH) W width of the water channel (mm)
Cpmax coefficient of power corresponding to the maximum X1 horizontal distance between the rotor center to the
power extracted by the turbine (2Tx/qU3DH) upper tip of deflector plate (mm)
Ct coefficient of torque (4T/qU2D2H) X2 horizontal distance between the rotor center to the bot-
dr diameter of nylon string (mm) tom tip of deflector plate (mm)
D rotor diameter (mm) Y1 vertical distance between the rotor center to the upper
Do end plate diameter (mm) tip of deflector plate (mm)
G overlap ratio a/2R Y2 vertical distance between the rotor center to the bottom
h height of the blade (mm) tip of deflector plate (mm)
H rotor height (mm)
Hw height of the water channel (mm) Greek symbols
p straight edge of blade for modified Savonius rotor (mm) b angle made by the deflecting plate with the horizontal
q radius of circular arc for modified Savonius rotor (mm) axis (rad)
R bucket or blade radius (mm) l absolute viscosity of the water (Pa s)
RAR rotor aspect ratio (H/D)
  q density of the water (kg/m3)
Re Reynolds number, qUD l x angular velocity of the rotor (rad/s)
rshaft radius of shaft (mm) w blade arc angle for modified Savonius rotor (rad)
SAR stage aspect ratio
T torque (N m)

type devices as drag force is the main driving force for this type
machine. Savonius rotor is made by cutting the cylinder into two
halves along the central plane and then making it into ‘S’ shapes.
Although Savonius rotor is simple in design and construction, but
still not as popular as compare to the horizontal axis water turbine
due to its poor performance. Khan et al. [8] tested the single stage
conventional Savonius rotor in a water channel of 5 m  3 m. They
tested the rotor for three different Reynolds numbers namely
0.98  105, 1.52  105 and 1.96  105. An aspect ratio of 1.82 and
an overlap ratio of 0.207 were taken in their study. They reported
a maximum coefficient of power of 0.038, 0.049 and 0.04 for single
stage, two stage and three stage Savonius rotors. Nakajima et al. [9]
investigated the conventional Savonius rotor with a horizontal axis
at an overlap ratio of 0.36 and an aspect ratio of 1.48. They con-
cluded that the maximum coefficient of power is 0.25 at a Reynolds
number of 1.1  105. However, tunnel interference is not consid-
ered in their study. Nakajima et al. [10] investigated three different
types of models (single stage and double stage with 0° and 90°
phase shift). Flow field around the rotor is examined visually to re-
veal the enhancement mechanisms of power coefficient using the
double stage rotor. Results indicate that 90° phase difference in
the blades improve the power coefficient by about 10% at maxi-
mum (0.275 compare to 0.25 for single stage rotor).
Many researchers have adopted various techniques to maxi-
mize the performance and improve the starting torque character-
istics of Savonius turbine with wind as working medium. These
include use of guide vanes [11], V-plate deflector [12], deflector
plate [13], deflector plate [14] and blade with flat and circular
shielding [15]. Summary of these investigations is shown in
Table 1. Some of these techniques require change in design of
blade and other involves supplementary devices addition to the
system.
Power output of a Savonius rotor can be enhanced by reducing
the fluid resistance encountered by the convex surface of the
returning blade. This will increase the resultant drag acting on
the rotor improving the power output. Use of deflector plate

Table 1
Summary of experimental investigations on Savonius rotors with deflectors.

Author Rotor aspect Reynolds Free Wind Blockage ratio Rotor tested Parameter Remarks
ratio (H/D) number  105 stream tunnel correction measured
velocity dimensions
(m/s) (m  m)
Hayashi et al. [11] 0.2465/0.308 1.4–4.2 6, 9, 12, 1.5  1.5 Small rotors with Single and multistage Cp, Ct Rotor with no guide vanes
15, 18 open jet blockage Savonius rotors with have better Cpmax (0.16)
ratio of 3.5%. Rotors and without guide than with guide vanes for
placed at 2 m vanes large TSR (0.8)
downstream
Shaughnessy and 0.45/0.58 1.4 4 – Rotor is placed 610 mm Single stage with Cp, Ct Increase in Cp by 19.7%
Probert [12] upstream of the duct’s G = 0.0; with and compared to unblocked
exit without deflector by rotor
using V shaped deflector
Huda et al. [13] 0.32/0.185 0.80, 0.96, 6.5– Circular – Queensland S-shaped Cp Cpmax occurs 0.20 at
1.50 12.25 0.50 m rotor with or without deflecting plate angle of 35°
open jet deflector
Ogawa et al. [14] 2.1 0.61 7 – – Single stage with Cp Power increases nearly by
G = 0.20 30% with deflecting plate
Alexander and 1.2, 2.4, 3.6, 1.53–2.32 6 and 9 1.2  1.2 Based on Maskell G = 0.07–0.4, H/ Cp, Ct Cpmax of 0.243 at G = 0.22
Holowania [15] 4.8 D = 1.2, 2.4, 3.6, and H/D = 4.8
4.8 with flat and circular
deflector
 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217
improves the coefficient of power by reducing the reverse torque
on the returning blade. This is done by shielding the returning
blade with deflector plate. However, the information is available
on use of deflector plate with wind as a working medium. No infor-
mation is available on water turbine. Mohamed et al. [16] carried
out a numerical analysis for identifying the optimum shielding of
the returning blade of a Savonius wind turbine. Two dimensional
numerical investigations were carried out using OPAL (Optimizing
Algorithms) along with commercial CFD package FLUENT at a fluid
velocity of 10 m/s and a tip speed ratio of 0.7. Base case was con-
sidered from Hayashi et al., [11] with an overlap ratio of 0.20 at
a Reynolds number of 4.5  105. For the base case, maximum coef-
ficient of power was reported to be 0.18. They reported that there
was an improvement in the coefficient of performance by 27%
compared to the rotor with no deflector plate with air as the work-
ing medium.
Investigations on the modified Savonius rotor (with shaft) re-
ported by Modi and Fernando [17] was an effort in the direction
of improvement of performance of Savonius wind turbine by
changing the shape of the blade. Modified Savonius rotor with
shaft was reported to have a maximum coefficient of power around
0.32. However, these tests were based on closed wind tunnel test-
ing and coefficient of power was obtained by extrapolation. Kamoji
et al. [18] investigated the performance of modified forms of con-
ventional rotors with and without central shaft between the end
plates. Rotors with different overlap ratios, blade arc angles and as-
pect ratios were studied for different Reynolds numbers (0.8  105,
1  105, 1.2  105 and 1.5  105). Results indicate that the modi-
fied (without central shaft) Savonius rotor with an overlap ratio
of 0.0, a blade arc angle of 124° and an aspect ratio of 0.7 resulted
in a Cpmax of 0.21 at a Reynolds number of 150,000. This is higher
than that of conventional Savonius rotor (0.19). Correlation is
developed for a single stage modified Savonius rotor for a range
of Reynolds numbers studied.
The direction of the wind is unpredictable. Hence, the proper
positioning of the deflector plate with the change in the direction
of the wind becomes difficult. However, deflector plates would
work better in canals and rivers because of the fixed direction of
the water. No information is available on the performance of mod-
ified Savonius rotor with and without deflector plate in water
channel. Hence, an experimental investigation is conducted to
study the influence of the position of deflector plate on the coeffi-
cient of torque and power of modified Savonius rotor with water as
the working medium. Best configuration of modified Savonius ro-
tor (without shaft) is considered for the present work [18]. The
objectives of the present work are as follows:
330 330
mm
170 mm
(a)
Fig. 1. (a) Side view of the experimental setup and channel (b) Top view of the experimental setup channel.
3209
 Measurement of coefficient of torque and power of modified
Savonius rotor (without shaft) with and without deflector plate
at a Reynolds number of 1.32  105.
 Identification of the appropriate position of the deflector plate
for the maximum coefficient of power of modified Savonius
rotor.
 Study the influence of deflector plate with its appropriate
position for the two and three stage modified Savonius
rotors.
2. Experimental set-up and procedure
Fig. 1 shows the schematic of the water channel used for pres-
ent study and Fig. 2 shows the experimental set-up for conducting
tests on rotating Savonius rotor. The set-up consists of a structure
housing the modified Savonius rotor fabricated using studs and
mild steel plates. The mild steel plates are held in place by means
of washers and nuts. Two bearings (UC 204, NTN make) bolted to
the mild steel plates support the Savonius rotor. The usage of
studs, nuts and bolts facilitated easy replacement of rotors of dif-
ferent diameters and positioning of rotor center at the center of
the water channel. A brake drum dynamometer is used for loading
the Savonius rotor. The weighing pan, pulley and spring balance
(Salter make, accuracy of 2.5 g.) are connected by a nylon string
of 1 mm diameter. Friction is an important parameter that affects
the measurement of torque of the rotating Savonius rotor. Friction
in the bearings and the 1 mm inelastic fishing nylon wire wound
on the rotor shaft must be minimized. The seals are removed from
the bearings and bearings are washed in petrol to remove the
grease before mounting resulting in the reduction of friction. Lu-
bricant WD 40 is also used to reduce the friction in the bearings.
The rotor is loaded gradually to record spring balance reading,
weights and rotational speed of the rotor.
The experimental set-up is placed in an open channel having a
cross sectional area of 730 mm  330 mm. The water in the chan-
nel is supplied by a 40 H.P. centrifugal pump through a 203 mm
diameter pipe which is recirculated back. Discharge in the channel
is measured by venturi meter having a coefficient of discharge of
0.99 and area ratio of 0.6. Differential pressure transducer (APT
model 3100, Duon make) is used for pressure drop measurement
across venturimeter.
3. Single stage modified Savonius rotor
Kamoji et al. [18] conducted the experiments on modified Savo-
nius rotors with varying overlap ratios, aspect ratio (H/D), blade arc
730 mm
269.5 mm
245 mm
(b)
3210 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217

Fig. 2. (a) Schematic diagram of the test setup for modified Savonius rotor. (b) Pictorial representation of test setup for modified Savonius rotor.

angle (w) and blade shape factor (p/q). They determined the better
rotor configuration of the single stage modified Savonius rotor
(without shaft in between the end plates) corresponds to maxi-
p mum coefficient of power. The geometrical parameters for opti-
q
mum rotor configuration are H/D = 0.7, W = 124°, p/q = 0.2 with a
zero overlap ratio. The diameter and height of the rotor are
ψ ψ 245 mm and 170 mm respectively in the present study. The end
plate diameter is kept constant at 1.1D. The deflector plates are
q made of mild steel having 2 mm thickness.
p
Figs. 3 and 4 show the basic modified Savonius rotor without
shaft used in the present study and the isometric view of the
D modified Savonius rotor [18]. Modified Savonius rotor is fabri-
cated from aluminum pipe. The thickness of the aluminum blade
is 2 mm. The rotors are covered at the top and bottom by an ac-
Fig. 3. Top view of modified Savonius rotor without shaft in between the end plates rylic plate of 10 mm thickness. Modified Savonius rotor without
[18]. shaft is not having any shaft bolted to the two acrylic sheets.

Fig. 4. (a) Modified Savonius rotor without shaft in between end plates. (b) Geometrical parameters of modified Savonius rotor [18].
 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217 3211

Table 2
Advancing blade Geometrical parameters for deflector plate positioning.

Configuration X1 X1 X2 X2 Y1 Y1 b
R R R
No. (mm) (mm) (mm)
1 1.102 135 1.102 135 0.450 55 90°
2 1.240 152 1.102 135 0.450 55 101°
U
3 1.877 230 1.102 135 0.450 55 137°
R X1 Y1 4 1.102 135 1.877 230 0.450 55 44°
Y2 5 1.877 230 1.102 135 0.882 108 159°
6 1.877 230 1.102 135 0 0 123°
7 1.102 135 1.877 230 0 0 58°
8 1.102 135 1.102 135 0 0 90°
Returning blade
X2

Fig. 5. Schematic of modified Savonius rotor with space parameters of deflector

plate (present study).
4. Optimization of deflector plate position
In the present study, an experimental investigation is carried
out to identify the position of the deflector plate in the water chan-
nel to yield higher coefficient of power for single stage modified
Savonius rotor. Fig. 5 shows the schematic of the modified Savo-
nius rotor with deflector plate geometrical parameters. In the pres-
ent study, eight different positions of deflector plate whose
pictorial depiction is given in Fig. 6 and dimensional details are gi-
ven in Table 2. Mohamed et al. [16] carried out a numerical analy-
sis for optimum shielding of returning blade. In their study, two
and three blade conventional Savonius rotor (without shaft and
without end plates) is analyzed in the wind. Optimal parameters
for deflector plate in their study are X1/R = 1.23830, Y1/
R = 0.45390, X2/R = 1.0993 and b = 100.83° by kept Y2/R = 1.177
fixed. Configuration is almost identical with the configuration 2
of the present study. The maximum coefficient of power for this
configuration reported by Mohamed et al. [16] is 0.25.
The deflector plate angle b depends upon the geometrical
parameters X1, X2, Y1 and Y2. The parameter Y2 is kept fixed at
145 mm. Other three parameters decide the deflector plate angle
b. The limiting values for deflector plate parameters are
X1 = 135–230 mm, X2 = 135–230 mm and for Y1 = 0–108 mm. The
maximum values of X1 and X2 are kept fixed at 230 mm. Minimum
value are chosen on the basis that plate should not obstruct the
end plates of the rotor during rotation. The limiting values of Y1
chosen on the basis that minimum of Y1 can be zero as at this value
it completely covers the returning blade. The maximum value will
be less than the value of R. Maximum value for Y1 is chosen as
108 mm.

Fig. 6. Different positioning of deflector plate with respect to modified Savonius rotor tested in present study.
3212 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217

h
H
h h

H h

(a) h

D ψ Do

q
(a)
(b) D
Fig. 7. Two stage modified Savonius rotor. (a) Isometric view. (b) Top view.

5. Two and three stage modified Savonius rotors ψ Do

Two stage rotors (with 0° phase shift and 90° phase shift) and q
three stage rotors (rotor aspect ratios of 0.7 for both two and three
stage) are studied to investigate the influence of deflector plate in
its optimal position. Two and three stage modified Savonius rotors
without shaft are fabricated from aluminum blades of 2 mm thick-
p
ness. Both the two stage and three stage rotors having the same
geometrical parameters as single stage modified Savonius rotor.
Figs. 7 and 8 show the two and three stage rotors with rotor aspect (b)
ratio of 0.7 respectively.
Fig. 8. Three stage modified Savonius rotor. (a) Isometric view. (b) Top view.
Table 3 gives the diameter (D), height of rotor (H), height of
stage (h), stage aspect ratio (h/D) and rotor aspect ratio (H/D) for
two and three stage modified Savonius rotors. Fig. 9 shows the pic-
torial representation of two (with 0° phase shift and 90° phase Table 3
shift) and three stage modified rotor covered in this study. The per- Details of two and three stage rotors diameter, rotor height, stage height, stage aspect
ratio, rotor aspect ratio for modified Savonius rotors.
formance of single stage, two and three stage modified Savonius
rotors (each with rotor aspect of 0.7) are compared with and with- No. of stages of Diameter Height Height of Stage Rotor
out deflector plate. Optimal position of deflector plate is consid- modified of rotor of rotor (stage) aspect aspect
Savonius rotor (D) mm (H) mm blade (h) ratio (h/ ratio (H/
ered for comparison. Fig. 10 shows the schematic of two and
mm D) D)
three stage modified Savonius rotor with deflector plate.
Two stage 231 162 81 0.35 0.7
(phase shift
6. Data reduction of 0°)
Two stage 231 162 81 0.35 0.7
Reynolds number based on the rotor diameter is given by (phase shift
of 90°)
qUD Three stage 231 162 54 0.23 0.7
Re ¼ ð1Þ
l
where, Re is Reynolds number, q is the density of water, U is the free
stream velocity, D is the rotor diameter and l is the absolute viscos- Torque is calculated from the measured load and spring balance
ity of water load is given by
Tip speed ratio is given by ðM  SÞðr shaft þ dr Þg
T¼ ð3Þ
xD 1000
TSR ¼ ð2Þ
2U where M is the load, S is spring balance load, rshaft is the radius of the
where x is the angular velocity shaft, dr is the diameter of the nylon string
 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217 3213

Fig. 9. Modified Savonius rotors. (a) Two stage rotor with 0° phase shift. (b) Two stage rotor with 90° phase shift. (c) Three stage rotor.

where, Hw is the height of the water channel and W is the width of

Advancing blade the water channel. In the present study, the blockage ratio for sin-
gle, two and three stage modified Savonius rotors is around 15%.
Uncertainties in various basic parameters, tip speed ratio, coef-
ficient of torque and coefficient of power at the maximum coeffi-
cient of power are around 2.5%, 4.5% and 4.8% respectively.
U Uncertainty calculations are carried out based on Moffat [19].
X1 Y1
Y2
7. Results and discussion

Experiments are conducted in an open water channel at a Rey-

Returning blade
X2 nolds number of 1.32  105. Tests are conducted on modified Savo-
nius rotor and optimum design parameters are taken from Kamoji
(a) et al. [18]. Experiments are conducted to determine the coefficient
of power and coefficient of torque for the different configurations.
Fig. 11 shows the variation of coefficient of power and coefficient
Advancing blade

0.25
Coefficient of power (Cp)

0.2
U
X1 Y1 0.15
Y2
0.1

0.05
Returning blade
X2
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
(b) Tip speed ratio (TSR)
Fig. 10. Schematic of two stage (a) and three stage (b) modified Savonius rotor with 0.35
optimal positioning of deflector plate (present study).
Coefficient of torque (Ct)

0.3
0.25
Coefficient of torque (Ct) and coefficient of power (Cp) are given
0.2
by
0.15
4T
Ct ¼ ð4Þ 0.1
qU 2 D2 H
0.05
Cp ¼ TSR  Ct ð5Þ 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Blockage ratio is given by Tip speed ratio (TSR)
HD
Blockage ratio ¼ B ¼ ð6Þ Fig. 11. Variation of coefficient of power and coefficient of torque with respect to
Hw W tip speed ratio for modified Savonius without deflector.
3214 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217

of torque with respect to tip speed ratio for modified rotor without
deflector plate tested in present study with water as working med-
ium. The maximum coefficient of power is 0.14 at a tip speed ratio
of 0.7. Maximum coefficient of torque corresponding to tip ratio at
maximum coefficient of power is of 0.2.
Deflector plate upstream to the fluid flow acts as an obstacle to
the flow coming towards the returning blade. This reduces the neg-
ative or reverse torque on the returning blade. Maximum coeffi-
cient of performance of 0.21 at a tip speed ratio 0.82 is observed
for configuration 2. Coefficient of torque increases nearly linear
with the decrease in the tip speed ratio and it reaches its maximum
value for tip speed ratios ranging from 0.7 to 0.8. The geometrical
parameters (X1 = 152 mm, X2 = 135 mm, Y1 = 55 mm and b = 101°)
for deflector plate corresponding to this configuration are opti-
mum. Compared to the modified Savonius rotor without deflector
plate (Cpmax = 0.14 at a TSR = 0.7), there is about 50% performance
improvement for the optimum configuration.
Figs. 12 and 13 indicate the variation of coefficient of perfor-
mance and coefficient of torque with respect to tip speed ratio
for the modified Savonius rotor with and without deflector plate.
Results concluded that the maximum coefficient of power for all
the configuration of rotor with deflector plate is higher or equal
to the modified Savonius rotor without deflector plate except for
the configuration 5. This is due to the fact that deflector plate do
not cover the returning blade as well as it accelerated the flow
going towards returning blade thus create reverse torque. Re-
sults also concluded the operating range of tip speed ratio also
increases for the configurations studied compare to rotor with-
out deflector plate except for the configuration 5. Table 4 gives
the maximum coefficient of power along with the corresponding
tip speed ratio and coefficient of torque for the configurations
studied. Configuration 2 has the maximum coefficient of perfor-
mance among the other configuration studied in the present
work.
There are three parameters of deflector plate which affect the
performance of the modified Savonius rotor namely X1, X2 and Y1.
Experiments are designed such a way that two parameters are kept
constant, while the third is varied. Table 5 shows the sequence of
experiments carried out for studying the effect of deflector plate
geometrical parameters on the performance of modified Savonius
rotor. It may be observed that the maximum coefficient of perfor-
mance is highly sensitive to X1 compared to X2 and Y1. Maximum
coefficient of power of 0.21 is observed for a configuration of X1/
R = 1.24, X2/R = 1.102 and Y1/R = 0.45. Interestingly, this configura-
tion is the same as that reported by Mohamed et al. [16]. Numer-
ical investigations conducted by Mohamed et al. [16] assume two
dimensional flow. This does not consider the influence of end
plates and the aspect ratio.

0.25 0.25
Coefficient of power (Cp)

Coefficient of power (Cp)

Configuration 1 Configuration 2
0.2 Without deflector Without deflector 0.2

0.15 0.15

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0 0
Coefficient of power (Cp)

Coefficient of power (Cp)

Configuration 3 Configuration 4
0.2 Without deflector Without deflector 0.2

0.15 0.15

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0 0
Configuration 5
Coefficient of power (Cp)

Coefficient of power (Cp)

Configuration 6
0.2 Without deflector Without deflector 0.2

0.15 0.15

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0 0
Configuration 7
Coefficient of power (Cp)
Coefficient of power (Cp)

Configuration 8
0.2 Without deflector Without deflector 0.2

0.15 0.15

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Tip speed ratio (TSR) Tip speed ratio (TSR)

Fig. 12. Comparison of coefficient of performance versus TSR for modified Savonius rotor with and without deflector plate.
 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217 3215

0.35 0.35
Configuration 1 Configuration 2

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

0.3 0.3
Without deflector Without deflector
0.25 0.25

0.2 0.2

0.15 0.15

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0 0
Configuration 3 Configuration 4
Coefficient of torque (Ct)

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

0.3 0.3
Without deflector Without deflector
0.25 0.25

0.2 0.2

0.15 0.15

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0 0
Configuration 6
Coefficient of torque (Ct)

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

0.3 Configuration 5 0.3
Without deflector Without deflector
0.25 0.25

0.2 0.2

0.15 0.15

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0 0
Configuration 8

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

0.3 Configuration 7 0.3

Without deflector Without deflector
0.25 0.25

0.2 0.2

0.15 0.15

0.1 0.1

0.05 0.05

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Tip speed ratio (TSR) Tip speed ratio (TSR)

Fig. 13. Comparison of coefficient of torque versus TSR for modified Savonius rotor with and without deflector plate.

Table 4
rical parameters of configuration 2 are X1 = 144 mm, X2 = 135 mm,
Maximum coefficient of power and the corresponding tip speed ratio and coefficient
of torque for the configuration studied.
Y1 = 52 mm Y2 = 137 mm and b = 97°. Figs. 14 and 15 show the var-
iation of coefficient of power and coefficient of torque with tip
Configuration Maximum Tip speed ratio Maximum
speed ratio for rotors with and without deflector plate. Maximum
No. coefficient of corresponding to coefficient of
performance Cpmax torque at Cpmax
coefficient of performance of 0.17 is same for both 0° phase shift
and 90° phase shift two stage modified Savonius rotor with deflec-
Modified 0.14 0.70 0.20
Savonius
tor. However, the increase in the coefficient of power is more for
Without rotor with 0° phase shift. This may be explained as the deflector
deflector plate obstacle the half of the returning blade due to the 90° phase
1 0.14 0.76 0.18 shift in between stages. Results also show that the coefficient of
2 0.21 0.82 0.26
power for rotor with 90° phase shift is more than (0.13 at a tip
3 0.16 0.79 0.20
4 0.15 0.89 0.17 speed ratio of 0.73) compare to the rotor with 0° phase shift
5 0.11 0.62 0.18 (0.12 at a tip speed ratio of 0.72) without deflector.
6 0.17 0.89 0.19
7 0.15 0.86 0.17
8 0.15 0.85 0.18 9. Performance of three stage rotor

8. Performance of two stage modified Savonius rotors
Tests are conducted on two stage modified Savonius rotors (0°
and 90° phase shift) with an aspect ratio of 0.7 to investigate the
influence of deflector plate upstream to the flow. The optimal con-
figuration resulted in tests on single stage modified Savonius rotor
is considered for two stage modified Savonius rotors. The geomet-
Three stage rotor with an aspect ratio of 0.7 tested with and
without deflector plate. Figs. 14 and 15 show the variation of the
coefficient of power and coefficient of torque with respect to tip
speed ratio for rotor with and without deflector plate. Results show
the maximum coefficient of power of 0.102 at a tip speed ratio of
0.67 with deflector in optimal position. There is an improvement
in coefficient of power of 17% compared to the rotor without
deflector plate (0.087 at a tip speed ratio of 0.61). Tables 6 and 7
3216 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217

Table 5
Effect of deflector plate geometrical parameters on the performance of modified Savonius rotor.

Parameters Parameters Configuration Cpmax Conclusions remarks

fixed varied number
X1 = 135 mm Y1 = 0 mm 8 0.15 Y1 has negligible influence on Cpmax
X2 = 135 mm Y1 = 55 mm 1 0.14
X1 = 135 mm Y1 = 0 mm 7 0.15 Y1 has negligible influence on Cpmax
X2 = 230 mm Y1 = 55 mm 4 0.15
Y1 = 55 mm X2 = 135 mm 1 0.14 X2 has negligible influence on Cpmax
X1 = 135 mm X2 = 230 mm 4 0.15
X1 = 230 mm Y1 = 0 mm 6 0.17 Lower values of Y1 (0 mm and 55 mm) improve the Cpmax compared to no deflector plate case. But, Cpmax
X2 = 135 mm Y1 = 55 mm 3 0.16 decreases for higher value of the Y1 compared to no deflector situation. This is because deflector plate placed at
Y1 = 108 mm 5 0.11 Y1 = 108 mm may not only causes reverse torque, but also this torque may be slightly higher because of
acceleration of the flow towards returning blade.
Y1 = 55 mm X1 = 135 mm 1 0.14 Cpmax is highly sensitive to parameter X1. Cpmax decreases with the increase in X1 from 152 to 230 mm. The fluid
X2 = 135 mm X1 = 152 mm 2 0.21 flow tendency towards the returning blade is high at X2 = 230 mm. Deflector plate partially obstructs the
X1 = 230 mm 3 0.16 returning blade.

0.2 0.3

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

Coefficient of power (Cp)

2 stage 0 phase without deflector 2 stage 0 phase without deflector

0.16 2 stage 0 phase with deflector 0.25 2 stage 0 phase with deflector

0.2
0.12
0.15
0.08
0.1
0.04 0.05

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Tip speed ratio (TSR) Tip speed ratio (TSR)

0.2 0.3
Coefficient of power (Cp)

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

2 stage 90 phase without deflector 2 stage 90 phase without deflector

2 stage 90 phase with deflector 0.25 2 stage 90 phase with deflector
0.16
0.2
0.12
0.15
0.08
0.1
0.04
0.05

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Tip speed ratio (TSR) Tip speed ratio (TSR)

0.12 0.2
Coefficient of power (Cp)

Coefficient of torque (Ct)

3 stage without deflector 3 stage without deflector

0.1 3 stage with deflector 3 stage with deflector
0.15
0.08

0.06 0.1
0.04
0.05
0.02

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Tip speed ratio (TSR) Tip speed ratio (TSR)
Fig. 14. Variation of coefficient of power versus TSR for two and three stage rotors Fig. 15. Variation of coefficient of torque versus TSR for two and three stage rotors
with and without deflector plate. with and without deflector plate.

show the maximum coefficient of performance and corresponding 10. Conclusions

tip speed ratio and coefficient of torque for the two and three stage
rotors without and with deflector plate. Table 8 shows improve-
ment in the maximum coefficient of power for the rotors covered
in the present study with optimal positioning of deflector plate. Re-
sults show that the maximum coefficient of power improvement of
50% for the single stage modified Savonius rotor.
Experimental investigations are conducted on single stage mod-
ified Savonius rotor in an open water channel at a Reynolds num-
ber of 1.32  105. Maximum coefficient of power of single stage
modified Savonius rotor is 0.14 at a tip speed ratio of 0.7. Use of
deflector plate partially or completely shields the returning blade.
 K. Golecha et al. / Applied Energy 88 (2011) 3207–3217 3217

Table 6 formance deteriorates in terms of Cp and Ct by increasing the num-

Cpmax and corresponding TSR and Ct of two and three stage modified Savonius rotors ber of stages while keeping the rotor aspect ratio same, i.e., 0.7.
(with same rotor aspect ratio of 0.7) without deflector plate.
This suggests that use of single stage modified Savonius rotor is
Modified Savonius rotor Stage aspect Cpmax TSR at Ct at better compared to two stage and three stage modified Savonius
(RAR = 0.7) ratio (SAR) Cpmax Cpmax rotor. This decrease may be attributed to the presence of the inter-
Two stage (0° phase) 0.7 0.12 0.72 0.17 mediate plate which affects the flow distribution. Two stage mod-
Two stage (90° phase) 0.35 0.13 0.73 0.17 ified Savonius rotor with a 90° phase shift has slightly higher
Three stage (60° phase) 0.23 0.087 0.61 0.14
maximum coefficient of the power compared to the rotor with a
0° phase shift. The presence of the deflector plate improves the
performance of the two stage with 0° phase shift, two stage with
90° phase shift and three stage modified Savonius rotor by 42%,
Table 7
Cpmax and corresponding TSR and Ct of two and three stage modified Savonius rotors
31% and 17% compared to corresponding no deflector plate situa-
(with same rotor aspect ratio of 0.7) with deflector plate. tion. Hence, the present study suggests that the performance char-
acteristics of modified Savonius rotor can be improved significantly
Modified Savonius rotor Stage aspect Cpmax TSR at Ct at
(RAR = 0.7) ratio (SAR) Cpmax Cpmax
by properly placing the deflector plate upstream to the flow.
Two stage (0° phase) 0.7 0.17 0.89 0.18
Two stage (90° phase) 0.35 0.17 0.83 0.20
References
Three stage (60° phase) 0.23 0.102 0.67 0.15
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