Savonius Wind Turbine 3D Course

The two-blade Savonius wind turbine is one of the simplest vertical-axis rotors to draw, but predicting its torque behavior in CFD is not trivial. This course, built by the CFD team at MR CFD, walks through a complete Savonius Wind Turbine 3D CFD Simulation of a two-blade rotor — from SpaceClaim geometry to Mesh Motion setup and result interpretation. You'll work with the same 494,456-element mesh, 10 m/s inlet, and 40 rpm rotation used in the reference case.

Who This Course Is For

This project suits mechanical and renewable-energy engineers who already understand basic Fluent workflows and want to move into transient, rotating-zone simulations. If you've completed an Ansys Fluent intermediate course and know how to set boundary conditions and run a steady solution, this Savonius case is a natural next step. Students researching vertical-axis wind turbines for thesis work or product design will find the inner/outer blade torque analysis directly usable.

Enroll through MR CFD's CFD course catalog to get the SpaceClaim geometry, mesh file, and Fluent case setup used here. The course is self-paced, so you can pause after the meshing section and return once you've reviewed your own rotating-zone settings.

What You'll Learn: Savonius Wind Turbine 3D CFD Simulation Syllabus

Setting up Mesh Motion correctly is the trickiest part of this build — the rotating zone must fully enclose both blades without clipping the outer domain interface. If you haven't configured a rotating zone before, review the setup patterns in the Ansys Fluent advanced course before starting this project.

Software & Solver Requirements

A transient run at ~494,456 elements with Mesh Motion isn't heavy by CFD standards, but completing a full rotation cycle at 40 rpm still takes several hours on a standard workstation. If you're queuing multiple RPM cases or refining the mesh further, MR CFD's ANSYS HPC service cuts that wall-clock time considerably.

Real Engineering Applications

Savonius rotors show up in rooftop wind installations, small off-grid power setups, and research on drag-type VAWTs where wind direction shifts constantly. Because the rotor needs no yaw mechanism, it fits turbulent, low-altitude urban wind profiles better than a horizontal-axis turbine. The pressure asymmetry extracted in this project — high pressure on the inner blade, high velocity across the outer blade's back — is exactly what an engineer needs to size a generator or estimate energy yield.

If your Savonius design needs validation against a specific site wind profile or a custom blade shape, MR CFD's CFD consulting team can extend this base case into a full parametric study.

Prerequisites

This isn't a first CFD project. You should already be comfortable with steady-state Fluent runs, basic meshing, and boundary condition setup before attempting a transient Mesh Motion case.

Certificate & Outcome

Finishing this project gives you a completion certificate and, more importantly, a working Fluent case file you can adapt for other drag-type VAWT geometries. Many students use this exact rotating-zone workflow as a stepping stone toward research work or a portfolio project.

If you're building toward a CFD career, pair this project with MR CFD's CFD internship track to get feedback from working engineers on your setup and results.