DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRID VERTICAL AXIS TURBINE
Md. Jahangir Alam, M.T. Iqbal
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science,
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Email: jahangir@engr.mun.ca
ABSTRACT
Power from wind or water current can be extracted using a
horizontal or vertical axis turbine. Vertical axis turbines are
capable of extracting power from wind or water current
regardless of the direction of flow. A hybrid turbine consists
of two types of turbines on a same shaft. Such a design
exploits good features of two turbines. This paper presents
the design of a hybrid turbine based on a straight bladed
Darrieus (lift type) turbine along with a double step
Savonius (drag type) turbine. Four bladed Darrieus rotor is
placed on top of a Savonius rotor. The hybrid vertical axis
turbine has much better self-starting characteristics and
better conversion efficiency at higher flow speeds. The
hybrid turbine is built and tested in variable speed water
currents. This turbine design can also be used as a wind
turbine. This paper presents the system design and
performance test results of the hybrid turbine. The designed
hybrid vertical axis turbine will be used to generate power at
the sea floor for an instrumentation system.
Index Terms: Hybrid turbine, Hydrodynamics, Savonius
turbine, Darrieus turbine.
1. INTRODUCTION
There are three general types of ocean currents: 1) gradient
currents mainly due to seawater density gradients; 2) wind-
driven currents produced by the forces exerted by the wind
on the ocean surface; and 3) currents produced by long-
wave motions. The latter are principally tidal currents, but
may include currents associated with internal waves,
tsunamis and seiches. The major ocean currents are of
continuous, stream-flow character, and are of first-order
importance in the maintenance of the earth's thermodynamic
balance. Such currents are a significant and untapped
renewable resource of energy.
Speed and density of flowing bodies determine the
kinetic energy that can be converted into mechanical energy
using turbine. Though the wind speed is much higher than
the water speed, but water is about 835 times denser than
wind. Worldwide, the total estimated power in ocean
currents is about 5,000 GW, with power densities of up to
15kW/m2 [1]. Kinetic energy of water current can be
978-1-4244-3508-1/09/$25.00 2009 IEEE 1178
converted into mechanical energy using a turbine. Turbine
may be horizontal axis or vertical axis type. Vertical axis
turbines are preferred due to their omni-directional
characteristics. Fig. 1 shows three vertical axis turbines.
Savonius type vertical axis turbine produce higher
torque and have lower cut-in speed. A lift type Darrieus
turbine (classified as vertical axis) can have blade tip speed
many times the speed of the water current (i.e. the Tip Speed
Ratio (TSR) is greater than 1). Hence a Darrieus turbine
generates less torque than a Savonius but it rotates much
faster. This makes Darrieus turbines much better suited to
electricity generation, regardless of the direction of flow of
the flowing bodies like water or wind. Darrieus type turbine
has weak self starting characteristics and higher cut-in
speed. A Savonius drag type turbine can be combined to a
Darrieus turbine to overcome its weak self starting
characteristics [2, 3].
(a) Savonius type
(b) Darrieus type
Fig. 1 Vertical axis Turbines
The following sections describe the design of a hybrid
vertical axis turbine capable of producing mechanical power
of approximately 100W at 96 rpm.
2. SAVONIUS ROTOR
Savonius rotors [4] are used whenever cost or reliability is
much more important. Much larger Savonius turbines have
been used to generate electric power on deep-water buoys,
which needs small power and very little maintenance.
Design is simple because, unlike horizontal-axis turbines, no
pointing mechanism is required to allow for shifting water
or wind direction and the turbine is self-starting.
Due to its simple and low cost construction, acceptance
of water from any direction, high starting torque, low
operating speed and less maintenance, Savonius rotor
becomes popular among the design engineers and turbine
manufacturers. Savonius uses a rotor that was formed by
cutting the Flettner cylinder into two halves along the
central plane and then moving the two semi cylindrical
surfaces sideways along the cutting plane so that the cross-
section resembled the letter S. Savonius turbine relies on
stagnation principles to convert current into rotational
energy. The Savonius rotor uses stagnation pressure on one
side to promote rotation around a central vertical axis. The
Fig. 2 Characteristic curves of many conventional wind
blade turning redirects water around itself with its rounded machines
shape. Any tangential flow of water will produce a positive
force on the rotor. Vertical axis turbines operate in turbulent The aspect ratio (A) represents the height (Hs) of the rotor
water patterns better than horizontal designs. A Savonius relatively to its diameter (Ds). This is also an important
design relies on the pressure of the current against the rotor criterion for the performances of a Savonius rotor:
blade to create torque. As such, a Savonius design cannot
Hs
exceed the speed of the water and operates at a lower RPM A = (3)
range than would a horizontal axis turbine. It has the benefit Ds
of producing a larger torque. Generally, a value of A is selected larger than 1 to improve
the efficiency [4].
If CPs is the power coefficient of a Savonius turbine then the It is known that end plates lead to better hydrodynamic
power (P) can be obtained from water is, performances. The influence of the diameter Df (in fig. 3) of
these end plates relatively to the diameter Ds of the rotor has
P = 0.5 C Ps As V 3 (1) been experimentally studied. The higher value [5] of the
power coefficient is obtained for a value of Df around 10%
more than Ds, irrespective of the velocity coefficient.
Where,

P is the output power (W)

is the density of water (kg/m3)
As= (Height Diameter) = (HsDs), is the
swept area of Savonius rotor (m2)
V is the speed of water (m/s)

The tip peripheral velocity of the rotor, U= sRs [s is the

angular velocity of Savonius rotor and Rs (= Ds/2) is the (a) (b)
radius of the Savonius rotor].

Now the Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) of a turbine is defined as,

U s Rs
TSR = s = = (2)
V V

Turbines are usually characterized by performance curves,

which give Cp as a function of . It is known (Betz theory)
that for a horizontal axis wind turbine, the power coefficient
is always inferior to the theoretical value of 0.593. In fact,
the best modern machines have maximum value of less than
0.5. Cp as a function of curves for many turbines are shown
in Fig. 2.
(c) (d)
Fig. 3 Savonius rotor (a) Front view (Single Step); (b) Top
view of conventional Savonius rotor (Without central shaft); (c)
Top view with a central shaft. (d) Designed 2-Step Savonius
turbine.

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The overlap ratio () for Fig. 3 (b) is given by, Where, Rd is the radius of Darrieus rotor
e d is the angular velocity of Darrieus rotor.
= (4)
d
From the momentum model [3] for Darrieus rotor, the power
Where, e is the overlap.
coefficient Cp for a machine with different solidity at various
When a central shaft is chosen then recommended is,
TSR can be determined.
(ra a ) The power available from water can be determined from
= (5)
equation (8).
di
Where, ra is the overlap. Pavail = 0.5 Aw V 3 (8)
The best efficiencies are obtained for values of Where, Aw = Cross sectional area under consideration
between 20% and 30%.
For a two bladed Savonius turbine, starting torque would The power available at the shaft for conversion to
be close to zero if water direction is 900 to the cutting edge mechanical or electrical energy can be calculated as,
to the blade. It is the reason many prefer to use a double-step
Savonius rotor, where the upper and the lower paddle pairs Pshaft = 0.5 C Pd Ad V 3 (9)
are set at 90 to each other. The double-step rotor is found to
be slightly better compared to the corresponding single-step Where, CPd is power coefficient of Darrieus rotor
turbine (conventional Savonius rotor) in both torque and Ad = (Height Diameter) = (HdDd), is the swept
power characteristics. area of Darrieus rotor (m2)
The choice of the material is obviously crucial. Different
criterias are: low cost, easy construction, light weight, good The blade manufacturing and material selection is one of the
resistance as well as rigidity, recyclable material. crucial aspects of water turbine design, which directly affect
the turbine performance.
3. DARRIEUS ROTOR
4. THE DARRIEUS-SAVONIUS HYBRID TURBINE
The Darrieus configuration consists of vertical airfoils
During the prototype design of hybrid turbine, Darrieus
mounted on a vertical shaft at some distance or radius from
rotor has been used as a main device and the Savonius rotor
the shaft. These machines take advantage of the lift
as a start-up device. They are combined permanently to the
generated by the airfoils moving through the water or wind.
same axis. To get a good start-up characteristics regardless
The Theoretically higher rotational speed of the Darrieus
of the water direction, the Savonius rotor is divided into two
turbine is an advantage for it being used to generate
(upper and lower) stages, with the two parts having an
electricity from the energy carried in the water. In our
attachment angle separated by 900 [5]. The designed
Darrieus design, the airfoils used are symmetrical and have a
prototype is shown in fig. 4.
zero pitch angle. This arrangement is equally effective no
matter which direction the water is flowing. When the
Darrieus rotor is spinning, the airfoils are moving forward
through the water in a circular path.
Commonly used symmetrical airfoil shapes for Vertical
Axis Wind/Water Turbines (VAWT) are, NACA-0012,
NACA-0015, and NACA-0018. The primary difference
between the three shapes is the cord to thickness ratio.
The recorded experimental data can be used to calculate
the power generated, angular velocity, Tip Speed Ratio
(TSR), power available from the water, shaft power,
efficiency of the turbine as well as the overall efficiency.
The solidity ratio [3] and the TSR can be calculated from the
equations (6) and (7), respectively.
(a) Side View (b) Photo of a Prototype Turbine
Solidity Ratio = (No. of Blades Chord length) / Rotor Fig. 4 Hybrid Configuration of Darrieus and Savonius Rotor
diameter (6)
In this hybrid configuration, both rotors are connected at a
Tip Speed Ratio (TSR) = (Blade tip speed/ Water speed) distance in order to avoid water flow interference between
d Rd the two rotors. Though the axial friction and moment of
d = (7)
inertia rise with the increase in the weight of the axis, this
V
design has been chosen to avoid interference between two

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turbines. As there is a significant impact [2] of the radius By assuming a 1m/s flow of water, the maximum
ratio (Rs / Rd) on the characteristics of the hybrid turbine, we mechanical output power from equation (10) is,
consider it during hybrid turbine design.
Pmech = 157 Watt
5. DESIGN OF HYBRID ROTOR
Incorporating friction loses actual power will be much less
The Power (P) output as well as TSR of the hybrid turbine than 157 Watt.
has been found using equation (10) and (11) respectively,
To find out the shaft speed at this output, we can use
P = 0.5 V ( As C Ps + Ad C P d )
3
(10) equation (2) and (7) respectively,

R For Savonius, 1 = (s 0.1) / 1

And, Tip Speed Ratio ( ) = (11) For Darrieus, 5 = (d 0.5) / 1
V
Where, So, s = d = = 10 rad/s
Therefore, n = (60/2) 10 = 95 rpm
As = Swept area by Savonius rotor in m2
Ad = Swept area by Darrieus rotor in m2
Expected output power of the designed turbine is shown in
CPs= Power coefficient of Savonius rotor
fig. 5 below (Assuming ideal conversion efficiencies),
CPd = Power coefficient of Darrieus rotor
= Water density in Kg/m3 1400

= Shaft speed in rad/s

1200
= TSR of Hybrid turbine
R = Rd = Maximum rotational radius Output Power,P (W) 1000

By using the characteristic curve (Fig. 2), desired values of 800

the power coefficient for a particular TSR in case of both the 600
turbines during hybrid configuration are,
400
CPs = 0.18 for s = 1 [Savonius]
And, CPd = 0.3 for d = 5 [Darrieus] 200

Using equation (2) and equation (7) for both the turbines 0
(Taking same rotational speed, as they are connected by a 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Water Speed,V (cm/s)
140 160 180 200

shaft) we get,
s / d = Rs / Rd = 1/5 = 0.2 Fig. 5 Expected Output Power of Hybrid Turbine
If, Rs= 0.1m then Rd = 0.5m
Specifications for both the turbines in their hybrid 6. HYDRODYNAMICS
configuration have given at Table 01.
Table : 01
Two basic forces that act in the designed turbine are drag
Savonius Rotor and lift. Savonius turbine provides high drag to overcome
Rotor Height (Hs) 400mm the rotor inertia and assist the hybrid turbine to start in a
Nominal diameter of the counter-clockwise direction. The Darrieus turbine is
paddles (di) 130mm powered by the phenomenon of lift. This lift is created
Diameter of the shaft (a) 20mm because of the airfoil shape of the turbines blades. These
Rotor diameter (Ds) 200mm blades cut through the water with an angle of attack to the
Overlap ratio () 0.298 water causing a pressure differential. The resulting pressure
Swept area (As) 0.08m2 differentials cause a force called lift, which propels the blade
Darrieus Rotor forward. In order to propel the turbine, the net torque caused
by lift forces must be greater than the net torque caused by
Airfoil Section NACA 0012 drag forces.
Number of Blades 4 Drag force can be found from,
Solidity Ratio [3] 0.28 D = 0.5 C D A V 2 (12)
Rotor diameter (Dd) 1m
Rotor Height (Hd) 1m
And, the lift force can be found from,
Swept area (Ad) 1m2
Chord length (C) 69.33mm L = 0.5 C L A V 2 (13)
Where, CD= Drag Coefficient (0.045 for an Airfoil)

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 CL = Lift Coefficient The resultant water speed can be found from [1],
A= Airfoil/ Frontal Area
Drag force depends on the Reynolds Number, which is
defined as, VR = V 1 + 2 cos + 2 (15)
And the angle of attack () or incidence angle can be found

R e = V L (14) from
sin
Where, = tan 1 (16)
Re is Reynolds number, which is dimensionless, cos +
i.e. it is a ratio of two quantities with the same unit. Here, represents TSR for hybrid structure.
is viscosity coefficient
V is the velocity of the Water in m/s. 7. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
L is the characteristic length, in this case the largest
cross section of the frontal area in m. The designed turbine has been built and tested in the flume
tank of Marine Institute (Memorial University of
The forces driving hybrid turbine can be described in more Newfoundland). That tank has a depth of 4m, length of 8m
detail with the assistance of fig. 6. There are two important and width of 4m. The test was done in two sections. First of
velocity components. First one is the velocity of the airfoil all, the hybrid turbine was tested and later the Savonius and
relative to the shaft, which is at all times parallel to the Darrieus turbine were tested individually. With the
chord, having a magnitude equal to the rotational speed () assistance of a DAQ board (OMB-DAQBOARD-3000
multiplied by the radius (R). Another one is the velocity of Series), the torque data were collected using a load cell and
the water (V), which is approximated as a constant velocity a torque arm of 15cm long. An encoder assisted speed ()
in one direction (It is upside down). The resultant of these measurement has introduced. Fig. 7 is illustrating the
two velocities is the effective velocity of the water relative immerse hybrid turbine in the flume tank during test.
to the airfoil. The angle between this resultant velocity and
the chord of the airfoil is called the angle of attack (). Lift
is created by a pressure differential which is perpendicular
to the drag force and it occurs whenever there is an angle of
attack () not equal to zero. In 90 and 270 position of
(Azimutal or orbital blade position shown in fig. 6), the
angle of attack () is 0. At this point, only a drag force
exists. Lift begins to be created as the blades rotate out of
these two positions and increase. This lift force is
perpendicular to the resultant water direction (or Drag
created at th of chord length) but, most importantly, it
always introduces counter-clockwise rotation for this
designed structure.

Fig. 7 Hybrid Turbine under test at Flume tank

In Fig. 8, the hybrid turbine output power is shown as a

function of water speed. At the design speed (1 m/s),
maximum extracted mechanical power was only about 0.405
Watt, which is unexpectedly low due to drag from the radial
arms used in the design. Other source of losses was high
bearing friction. The cut in speed was around 0.3m/s. Due to
an unexpected vibration during high water speeds, turbine
was not tested above 1m/s flow speed.
Fig. 6 Hydrodynamics of the Hybrid Turbine

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 during turbine design. In our second prototype, the radial
0.45
arms have been replaced with much thinner plates
0.4 incorporating a width equal to Airfoils cord length and the
0.35 test results will be published as soon as the manufacturing
Output Power,P (W)

and testing is complete. Cut in speed of the hybrid turbine

0.3
with the Savonius rotor is about 0.3m/s. It indicates a quick
0.25 self starting behaviour of the Hybrid turbine comparing with
0.2 the Darrieus type alone. During the design of a hybrid
turbine, it is recommend to choose a proper radius ratio of
0.15
the turbines as well as proper positioning of two turbines.
0.1 The design idea can also be implemented for wind
0.05
applications.
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Water Speed,V (cm/s)
Authors are thankful to SEAformatics group as well as
Fig. 8 Available Power from first prototype Memorial University of Newfoundland for their financial
support. We also appreciate the ceaseless effort of Dr.
Both Savonius and Darrieus turbine has also been tested
Vlastimil Masek, Paul Bishop and Brian Pretty.
individually, but the Darrieus data is not shown here due to
its undesired vibration during the data collection. But, we
9. REFERENCES
observed a much higher cut in speed (Almost 0.5 m/s) in
case of Darrieus structure alone compared to the designed
[1] Godfrey Boyle, Renewable Energy: power for sustainable
hybrid turbine. The double step Savonius turbine output
future, Oxford university press 2004.
power is shown as a function of water speed in Fig. 9. It
shows a cut in speed of 30cm/s or 0.3m/s. At the designed [2] Wakui T, Tanzawa Y, Hashizume T, Nagao T, Hybrid
speed (1m/s) of the hybrid turbine, Savonius turbine configuration of Darrieus and Savonius rotors for stand-alone
separately shows a higher output than its hybrid structure, wind turbine-generator systems Electrical Engineering in Japan,
which is an indicator of immense drag produced by the Vol.150, No.4, 2005.
Darrieus radial arms.
[3] Manohar K, Rampartap, Ramkissoon R, Self starting Hybrid
H type wind turbine Energy Sustainability 2007, Long Beach,
2.5 California, June 27-30.

[4] Md. Nahidul Islam Khan, M. T. Iqbal, M. Hinchey, Sea-Floor

2 Power Generation System, presented at 17th IEEE NECEC
Output Power,P (W)

conference, St. Johns, NL, November 8, 2007.

1.5
[5] J.-L. Menet, A double-step Savonius rotor for local production
of electricity: a design study Renewable Energy vol.19 September
1
2004, page 1843-1862, Science Direct.

0.5

0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Water Speed,V (cm/s)

Fig. 9 Available Power from Savonius turbine

8. CONCLUSION

This paper has elaborated the design process, some design

issues and the hydrodynamics of a hybrid turbine. During
the tests the expected performance of the prototype has not
been achieved due to excessive drag from the radial arms of
Darrieus section. This issue must be taken into account

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