Abstract: In order to explore method to improve self-starting capability of H-Darrieus wind turbine, theoretical analysis of static torque characteristic is carried out with aerodynamic data of airfoil at the angle of attacks in the range of [-180, 180], including Reynolds number effect and contribution of lift and drag to static torque. The analysis shows that compared to blade using asymmetric airfoil, the blade using symmetric airfoil benefits the self-starting characteristic of the rotor. The effect of Gurney flap attached to the trailing edge increases the effective camber of the airfoil. A three-bladed H-Darrieus turbine with or without Gurney flaps is tested in a low-speed wind tunnel, the theoretical analysis result is validated by test result, moreover, the test result indicates that as Reynolds number increases, the superiority of the asymmetric airfoil in terms of improving self-starting capacity becomes less pronounced.

Key words: gurney flaps, H-Darrieus wind turbine, Reynolds number, self-starting, static torque, wind tunnel test, wind energy