Savonius wind turbines: Design and testing of unique blade designs

Paul B McPherson, Purdue University

Abstract

As the idea of implementing alternative energy systems into urbanized areas continues to gain popularity, there is a growing need to improve the efficiency of such systems. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine whether or not six unique blade designs, developed by the researcher, would lead to a more efficient vertical axis Savonius wind turbine. This report provides details regarding the study of aerodynamic forces, drag coefficients, and flow characteristics around each blade as well as information pertaining to the assembly and field testing of a turbine. The researcher began by conducting wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamic simulations on a single blade with the proposed designs. The data from these experiments was then used to calculate the driving and opposing forces and drag coefficients that would be present when each blade design is used in a fully assembled turbine. Lastly, the researcher determined the theoretical maximum efficiency of each turbine by multiplying the difference between the drag coefficients with the Betz Limit (4/27). Upon analyzing the results, the researcher discovered that the forces that were reported in the CFD analysis were more than double those measured in the wind tunnel. In addition, upon calculating the performance of each blade design when assembled into a full turbine, it was found that the turbines may not perform as well as the researcher initially expected; with only one having an efficiency of greater than 12%. However, because of the differences between the wind tunnel and CFD results, the researcher suggests that further experimentation and analysis needs to be completed to accurately justify the performance calculations.

Degree

M.S.

Advisors

Harding, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Alternative Energy|Aerospace engineering|Electrical engineering|Energy

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