Aerodynamic Design, Performance Optimization, and Aeroacoustic Characterization of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) have garnered renewed interest as promising technologies for decentralized applications in urban, offshore, and built-environment wind energy sectors. Their notable advantages include omnidirectional operation, compact installation, enhanced suitability for turbulent inflow, and simplified integration into distributed energy systems. Nonetheless, despite these benefits, the widespread implementation of VAWTs is hindered by challenges such as aerodynamic inefficiencies, difficulties with self-starting, complex unsteady flow physics, dynamic stall, wake interactions, structural loading concerns, and noise generation. Recent advancements in computational fluid dynamics, reduced-order modeling, experimental diagnostics, optimization algorithms, and aeroacoustic analysis present new avenues to enhance the design and operational performance of VAWTs.

This Research Topic aims to address critical scientific and engineering challenges that impede the aerodynamic performance, efficiency, reliability, and acoustic acceptability of VAWTs. Specifically, it seeks to consolidate recent advancements in passive and active blade modifications, rotor design modifications, unsteady aerodynamics, dynamic stall control, wake modeling, aeroelastic response, aeroacoustic prediction, and the impacts of icing and surface contamination on turbine operation and durability. The objective is to facilitate the development of high-performance, application-specific VAWT concepts. This collection will underscore the integration of modern methodologies, including high-fidelity simulations, experimental measurements, machine learning, multi-objective optimization, and digital design frameworks. These approaches aim to enhance output power and generated torque, reduce fatigue loads, mitigate noise emissions, and improve overall system robustness in realistic environmental conditions.

This Research Topic invites the submission of original research articles, review papers, mini-reviews, methods papers, and perspective contributions that focus on the fluid mechanics, aerodynamic design, aeroacoustics, and performance optimization of VAWTs. Areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to, blade and rotor design, hybrid and standalone VAWTs, passive and active blade modification, unsteady aerodynamics, dynamic stall, wake interactions, effects of turbulent inflow, aeroelasticity, fluid-structure interaction, aeroacoustic modeling, and strategies for noise mitigation. Additionally, submissions addressing performance prediction methodologies, experimental characterization techniques, computational modeling, reduced-order modeling, and data-driven or multi-objective optimization are encouraged. Contributions that explore environmental and operational influences, such as icing, surface contamination, dust accumulation, and surface degradation, and their implications for aerodynamic efficiency, durability, and acoustic performance are particularly welcome.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs), Aerodynamic Design, Performance Optimization, Self-starting Capability, Dynamic Stall, Aeroacoustics and Noise Mitigation, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.