A Wind-Solar Energy Harvester Based on Airflow Enhancement Mechanism - Rail-Side Devices on the Tibetan Plateau

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Jake

Severe climate and environmental conditions on the Tibetan Plateau make it difficult to supply power reliably to remote rail-side devices. This paper proposes and verifies a wind-solar energy harvester (WSEH) based on an airflow enhancement mechanism (AFEM) to power such devices. The system combines a vertical axis wind turbine, flexible photovoltaic deflectors, and energy conversion/storage units. AFEM uses the Venturi effect to boost airflow to the turbine, with CFD and wind-tunnel verification.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Wind-solar energy harvesting challenges on the Tibetan Plateau

Vertical axis wind turbine background and improvements

Deflectors to enhance VAWT performance

Proposed WSEH concept and airflow enhancement mechanism

Components of the WSEH system

Venturi-based airflow boosting via flexible photovoltaic deflectors

Simulation and experimental verification

CFD simulation results

Wind tunnel tests of prototypes

Case study and energy output assessment

A Wind-Solar energy harvester based on airflow enhancement mechanism for rail-side devices on the Tibetan Plateau Hao Wang a,b, Minyi Yi a,b, Zutao Zhang a*, Hexiang Zhang a,b, Jizong Liu a, Zhongyin Zhu a, Qijun Wang c, Yanping Yuan a a School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China b Yibin Research Institute, Southwest Jiaotong University, Yibin 644000, PR China c School of Mechanics and Aerospace, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, PR China *E-mail: [zzt@swjtu.edu.cn](zzt@swjtu.edu.cn) Highlights 􀀃 A wind-solar energy harvester is proposed for powering rail-side devices. 􀀃 The airflow enhancement mechanism is realized by flexible photovoltaic deflectors. 􀀃 Simulations and wind tunnel tests were conducted to verify the proposed harvester. 􀀃 The optimum gain effect of the flexible photovoltaic deflectors reached 66.54%. 􀀃 The potential and feasibility of the harvester were analyzed through a case study. Abstract A severe challenge resulting from the harsh climate and environment is the power supply to remote rail-side devices on the Tibetan plateau. Evolving renewable energy harvesting technologies offer a promising solution. This paper proposes and verifies a wind solar energy harvester (WSEH) based on an airflow enhancement mechanism (AFEM) for powering rail-side devices. The proposed WSEH includes a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), flexible photovoltaic deflectors (FPVD), and energy conversion and storage devices. The AFEM is implemented based on the FPVD, which boosts the airflow energy blown to the VAWT due to the Venturi effect. The FPVD, based on an umbrella-like mechanism, unfolds as a PV panel for solar energy harvesting and folds as a deflector to boost the wind energy harvesting capacity for the VAWT. In CFD simulation, the maximum power coefficient of VAWT reaches 0.387, and the optimum gain effect ofFPVD is 66.54% . The prototypes, including VAWT and FPVD, are tested in a wind tunnel to verify the practical effects demonstrated by no-load speed and load output of the VAWT. The case study indicates that the WSEH generates 1566.82 kWh of electrical energy per year, which is adequate for powering rail-side devices on the Tibetan Plateau. Keywords: Wind-solar energy harvester; Airflow enhancement mechanism; Vertical axis wind turbine; Flexible photovoltaic deflector; CFD simulation; Wind tunnel test. Word count: 6837 words 1 This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: [https://ssrn.com/abstract=4376463](https://ssrn.com/abstract=4376463) 1. Introduction China possesses two-thirds ofthe world's high-speed rail lines, with total track length continuing to increase from its current 40,000 km length [1,2]. Much of this new development, such as the Sichuan-Tibet Railway [3,4], involves tracks laid through highly remote areas where it can be difficult and expensive to provide reliable safety equipment, namely power supply [5,6]. Harvesting clean and renewable energy [7,8] from the environment for powering rail-side devices is gradually attracting the interest of researchers [9– 11] . A novel wind-solar energy harvester (WSEH) is proposed to address the challenges faced in the power supply of rail-side devices along the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, considering the abundant wind and solar energy resources. Numerous studies have been conducted by many researchers in wind and solar energy harvesting [12–14], which is the basis of the work in this paper. Such research work involves three categories, including (1) vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) for wind energy harvesting,(2) deflectors to improve VAWT performance, and (3) wind-solar energy harvesting technologies. VAWT is an ancient wind turbine that converts airflow energy into rotating mechanical energy [15], named after its axis of rotation. Recently, researchers favored VAWT for its omnidirectionality

FAQs

What problem does the proposed wind-solar energy harvester address?

It addresses the challenge of providing reliable power to remote rail-side devices on the Tibetan Plateau under harsh climate and environment conditions.

How does the airflow enhancement mechanism improve energy harvesting?

It relies on flexible photovoltaic deflectors that create a Venturi-effect airflow, boosting the airflow energy blown to the vertical axis wind turbine.

How was the harvester verified and what performance was reported?

CFD simulation evaluated the turbine’s maximum power coefficient, and wind-tunnel tests verified practical effects using no-load speed and load output; the optimum gain effect of the flexible photovoltaic deflectors reached 66.54%.

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Jake