An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Placing a Cylinder in Front of the Returning Side on Overlap Savonius Wind Turbine Performance

Santoso, Dany Iman; Setiawan, Priyo Agus; Lukitadi, Projek Priyonggo Sumangun; Santoso, Emie; Prasojo, Budi; Antoko, Bambang; Juniani, Anda Iviana; Husodo, Adi Wirawan; Purwanti, Endang Pudji

doi:10.30501/jree.2026.511161.2294

An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Placing a Cylinder in Front of the Returning Side on Overlap Savonius Wind Turbine Performance

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Dany Iman Santoso ¹

Priyo Agus Setiawan ²

Projek Priyonggo Sumangun Lukitadi ²

Emie Santoso ²

Budi Prasojo ²

Bambang Antoko ²

Anda Iviana Juniani ²

Adi Wirawan Husodo ²

Endang Pudji Purwanti ³

¹ Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Kampus Unesa Ketintang, Jalan Ketintang, P. O. Box: 60231, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.

² Department of Marine Engineering, Politeknik Perkapalan Negeri Surabaya, Jalan Teknik Kimia Kampus ITS Keputih-Sukolilo, P. O. Box: 60111, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.

³ Department of Shipbuilding Engineering, Politeknik Perkapalan Negeri Surabaya, Jalan Teknik Kimia Kampus ITS Keputih-Sukolilo, P. O. Box: 60111, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.

10.30501/jree.2026.511161.2294

Abstract

Wind is a renewable energy source and has potential for developing the Savonius wind turbine. However, the Savonius turbine typically exhibits low performance and requires further optimization. One approach to enhance its performance is through overlap modification, which improves turbine rotation efficiency. Additionally, adding a cylinder in front of the returning blade can further increase performance by reducing drag force. In this study, the turbine’s performance was enhanced using both overlap modification and an additional disturbance cylinder. The experimental setup employed an original Savonius wind turbine with a diameter and height of 0.4 m, an overlap ratio of 0.3, and a cylinder with a diameter ratio of ds/d=0.4. Various distance ratios (S/d) of 1.4, 1.7, 2.0, and 2.3 were tested under wind velocities of 5 m/s, 6 m/s, and 7 m/s. The resulting torque and power coefficients were measured. The best performance was achieved at a distance ratio of 1.7 and a wind velocity of 5 m/s, with the power coefficient (Cp) increasing by approximately 21.13% compared to the original Savonius turbine.

Graphical Abstract

An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Placing a Cylinder in Front of the Returning Side on Overlap Savonius Wind Turbine Performance

Keywords

Renewable

Savonius Wind Turbine

Overlap

Power Coefficient

Subjects

Wind Energy

1. Altan, B. D., Atilgan, M., & Ozdamar, M. (2008). An experimental study on improvement of a Savonius rotor performance with curtaining. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 32, 1673-1678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2008.06.006

2. Altan, B. D., and Atilgan, M. (2010). The use of a curtain design to increase the performance level of a Savonius wind rotors. Renewable Energy, 35, 821 - 829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2009.08.025

3. Fatahian, E., Ismail, F., Ishak, M. H. H., Chang, W. S. (2022). An Innovative Deflector System For Drag-Type Savonius Turbin Using a Rotating Cylinder for Performance Improvement. Energy Conversion and Management, 257, 115453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2022.115453

4. Hassanzadeh. A. R., Yaakob. O., Ahmed. Y. M., & Ismail. M. A. (2013). Comparison of Conventional and Helical Savonius Marine Current Turbine Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, 28 (8), 1113-1119. https://www.idosi.org/wasj/wasj28(8)13/14.pdf

5. Kerikous, E., & Thevenin, D. (2019). Optimal shape and position of a thick deflector plate in front of a hydraulic Savonius turbine. Energy, 189, 116157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.116157

6. Mahmoud, N. H., El-Haroun, A. A., Wahba, E., & Nasef, M. H. (2012). An experimental study on improvement of Savonius rotor performance. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 51, 19-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2012.07.003

7. Patel C. P, Patel, V. K, Prabhu, S. V., & Eldho, T. I. (2013). Investigation of Overlap Ratio for Savonius Type Vertical Axis Hydro Turbine. International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering, 3, 379-383.

https://www.ijsce.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/v3i2/B1572053213.pdf

8. Puspitarini, H. D. (2021). Beyond 443 GW: Indonesia's infinite renewable energy potentials. Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR). https://iesr.or.id/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IESR-Beyond-443-GW-Indonesias-Infinite-Renewable-Energy-Potentials.pdf

9. Rohman, A., Setiawan, P. A., Lukitadi, P. P. S., Santoso, E., Ariwiyono, N., Antariksih, D. D. K. R., … Permadi, N. V. A. (2024). An Experimental Study of Stagger Angle Effect on the Performance of Marine Savonius Vertical Axis Water Turbine. Mein: Journal of Mechanical, Electrical & Industrial Technology, 1(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.35991/mein.v1i1.11

10. Salleh, M. B., Kamaruddin N. M., & Tion, P. H. (2021). Comparison of the power performance of a conventional Savonius turbine with various deflector configurations in wind and water. Energy Conversion and Management, 247, 114726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114726

11. Setiawan, P. A., Indarti, R., Ariwiyono, N., Yuwono, T., & Widodo, W. A. (2021). An Experimental Study of Overlap Ratio Effect to Savonius water Current Turbine by using Myring Equation for n=1. J. Phys. Conf. Ser, 1764, 1. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1764/1/012198

12. Setiawan, P. A., Yuwono, T., & Widodo, W. A. (2019a). Flow Analysis of a Circular Cylinder on the Savonius Hydrokinetic Turbine Performance Placed the Side of Advancing Blade. Int. J. Mech. Mechatronics Eng. IJMME-IJENS, 19, 06, 41. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340427654

13. Setiawan, P. A., Yuwono, T., & Widodo, W. A. (2019b). Numerical Study of the Stagger Angle Effect of a Circular Cylinder Installed in front of Returning Blade Toward the Vertical Axis Savonius Water Turbine Performance. J. Phys. Conf. Ser., 1179 (1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1179/1/012107

14. Setiawan, P. A., Husodo, A. W., Hamzah F., Yuwono T., & Widodo, W. A. (2022). Performance Analysis of Savonius Turbine Disturbed by Cylinder in Front of Returning with Variation of Distance to Perpendicular Fluid Flow. Int. J. Mech. Eng. Robot. Res., 11(10), 761–766. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijmerr.11.10.761-766

15. Setiawan, P. A., Santoso, M., Indarti, R., Ariwiyono, N., Yuwono, T., Widodo, W. A., Lukitadi, P. P. P. S., & Fuad, A. (2023). The effect of circular cylinder diameter installed the side of advancing blade to savonius water turbine performance by means of myring blade formula for n=1. AIP Conf. Proc, 2510, 040015. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0128825

16. Setiawan, P. A., Yuwono, T., Lukitadi, P. P. S., Santoso, E., Ariwiyono, N., Shah, M., Antoko, B., Prasojo, B., Purwanti, E. P, Hidayat, E. P. (2023). Experimental Investigation of Cylinder Rotation Effect on the Advancing Side to Savonius Wind Turbine Performance. Int. J. Mech. Eng. Robot. Res., 12(5), 284–289. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijmerr.12.5.284-289

17. Sheldahl, R. E., Feltz, L. V., & Blackwell, B. F., (1987) Wind Tunnel Performance Data for Two- and Three-Bucket Savonius Rotors, Journal of Energy, 2,160-164, https://doi.org/10.2514/3.47966

18. Tania, R., Florin, R. L., Adriana, I. V. D., Roxana M., Ancuta, A., & Florin, D. (2018). Experimental investigation on the influence of Overlap Ratio on Savonius Turbines Performance. Int. J. Renew. Energy Res, 8, 1791–1799. https://doi.org/10.20508/ijrer.v8i3.7764.g7480

19. Wenlong, T., Baowei, S., & Zhaoyang, M. (2014). Numerical investigation of a Savonius wind turbine with elliptical blades. Proceedings of the CSEE, 34, 796–802. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283976413

20. Yaakob, O., Ahmed, Y. M, & Ismail, M. A. (2012). Validation Study for Savonius Vertical Axis Marine Current Turbine Using CFD Simulation, The 6th Asia-Pacific Workshop on Marine Hydrodynamics, Malaysia, September 3-4, 2012. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262966784

21. Yaakob, O. B., Suprayogi, D. T., Ghani, M. P. A., and Tawi, K. B. (2013). Experimental studies on savonius-type vertical axis turbine for low marine current velocity. Int. J. Eng. Trans. A Basics, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 91–98. https://www.ije.ir/article_72076_f4b9c7656b7a4ac244f1cee9b7bf904f.pdf.

22. Yuwono, T., Sakti, G., Aulia, F. N., & Wijaya, A.C. (2020). Improving the performance of Savonius wind turbine by installation of a circular cylinder upstream of returning turbine blade. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 59, 4923-4932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2020.09.009