Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Project Report

Intro to Engineering: Learning Center Section 2,

Group 1

Matt Boylan, Anthony Chmura, Sean Hynes, Addie Tuse, Ted Wagner

5/1/2012
Abstract

The goal of this project was to build two different types of vertical axis wind turbines and

measure the power generated. The model uses both the Savonius and Darrieus style of vertical

axis wind turbines, or VAWT (http://www.reuk.co.uk/VAWT-Vertical-Axis-Wind-

Turbine.htm). With each of these models, different variations occur. The Darrieus model blades

can be adjusted to fit at different angles in relation to the axis of the windmill, whereas the

Savonius model can be adjusted to change the number of scoops (blades). While both models run

relatively well under controlled wind speed, testing of the windmills yielded poor efficiency

values. In conclusion of the project, the rubber band attached to the gear slips when the windmill

spins at high speeds. In addition, the gear ratio is not ideal.

Overall Concept

The idea of this project was to create two different models of vertical axis wind turbines

that convert wind energy to electrical power. The first type of windmill built, the Darrieus model,

involves three airfoil blades made of poster board. Figure 1 shows the complete model of the

Darrieus with the three air foils connected to the windmill.

Figure 1. The Darrieus Model

To change the angle of the blades, one would simply need to change the holes through which

brass pins fastened the airfoils to the spokes of the turbine. Figure 2 shows the top view of the

Darrieus windmill, where the connecting pins can be seen at the edges of the wooden plate.

Figure 2. The Darrieus Model (top view)

The second type of windmill built, the Savonius model, uses semi-circular blades made

of corrugated pipe also known as “scoops.” Figure 3 shows the full view of the Savonius model

of the turbine.

Figure 3. The Savonius Model

For this model, the number of scoops can vary by using metal pins. The turbine has the option of

using two, three, or four blades. Figure 4 shows the connecting pins at the edges of the plate and

near the axis of the circular wooden plate.

Figure 4. The Savonius Model (top view)

A hollow copper axis connects the two wooden plates in both models. This axis fits easily

over a steel rod, which connects to the wooden base. This set up allowed for not only a reduction

of materials and expenses, but also an easy transfer from one windmill to the other.

Originally, the angles of the airfoils were chosen to be 0° (perpendicular from the center

of the air foil to the axis), positive 30o and 60o (turning the tail toward the axis), and negative 30o

and 60o (turning the tail away from the axis). However, the 60o variations did not spin during

testing. Therefore, the project no longer contains these two variations in the results.

Table 1 (below) includes a full summary of all expenses for the project as well as all parts

used to build the windmill.

 Table 1. Parts list and total cost

Part Description Quantity Cost Model Usage

1/2" x 3' Steel Dowel 1 $4.27 Both

1/2" x 5' Copper Pipe 1 $8.71 Both

5.2 mm x 2' x 2' Plywood Sheet 2 $3.48 (each) Both

4" x 10' Corrugated Pipe 1 $3.99 Savonius

3/16" x 3' Steel Dowels 8 $2.97 (each) Savonius

Poster Board 2 $0.89 (each) Darrieus

2" x 4" x 8' Wood Plank 1 $5.68 Both

Axle Grease 1 $3.97 Both

Motor 1 $2.95 Both

Gears 1 $7.95 Both

Rubber band 1 $0.10 Both

Total Budget $70.12

Underlying Concept/ Math

The main principle of a VAWT is its capability to utilize the power of the wind and convert it

into mechanical power. The power of the wind is similar to the power of a turbine in general.

The equation for wind power is:

(1)

where is power output (volts), is air density (kg/m3), approximately 1.207 kg/m3, is swept

area (m2), which is equal to diameter*height (m2), and is undisturbed wind speed (m/s) as seen

in Mech 4010 Design Project: Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (Decoste etc., 6).

When we calculated the power of the turbine from our readings from the motor, we used the

following equation:

(2)

where is voltage (V) and is resistance (Ω) as suggested in the Physics text book (Serway and

Jewett, 783).

The conversion of wind power into mechanical power is dependent of the efficiency of the

windmill. This is represented by the coefficient of performance, which takes into account the

angle of the blades and the rotational speed of the windmill. The equation for is:

(3)

where is the power of the turbine (watts) and is the power of wind (watts) as seen

in Mech 4010 Design Project: Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (Decoste etc., 7).

The equation for power of a turbine is:

 (4)

where is power output (volts), is air density (kg/m3), approximately 1.207 kg/m3, is swept

area (m2), which is equal to diameter*height (m2), is undisturbed wind speed (m/s), and is

power coefficient (Betz’ Limit) as seen in Mech 4010 Design Project: Vertical Axis Wind

Turbine (Decoste etc., 7).

The physical testing determined the coefficient of performance and subsequently, the

turbine’s efficiency. Although different variations of blade angles or amount of scoops would

change the efficiency, the efficiency found was much lower than expected. The effectiveness of

the motor, the slipping of the rubber band that spun the motor, and the friction caused along the

axis are all to impugn for this.

Graphical User Interface

For the windmill, the GUI (Graphical User Interface) required certain attributes. There

had to be a way to change between Savonius blades and Darrieus blades. For the Savonius

windmill there had to be options of how many blades were actually on the windmill. For the

Darrieus there had to be angle options on how far the blades were rotated inward or outward of

the center. For both the Savonius and Darrieus there had to be options available to alter the wind

speed and power output and these two variables had to correspond to each other. Finally an

animation was essential to demonstrate the windmill’s path. Using all of this information the

GUI could be created.

First there was a pop-up menu added to change between the two types of blades.

Depending on what blade type it was, there were other pop-up menus added. For the Savonius, in

order to change the amount of blades, the menu altered the animation so it showed the amount of
blades picked by the user. There were choices for two, three, and four blades. For the Darrieus,

the blade angle was altered. A pop-up menu was created that altered the animation once again.

The menu created options so that the blades either had an angle of zero, negative thirty, or

positive thirty degrees.

In order to adjust wind speed and power output there were sliders created respectively.

The sliders did correspond to each other using equation 4 for power to wind speed. If the slider

for wind speed was altered the power output would use its value and convert it to the

corresponding value in the power slider. The same thing would happen if the power slider was

altered in that the wind speed slider would be changed. These two sliders displayed their values

in editable textboxes when changed. The text boxes also changed the slider when they were

edited. Also the variables in the equation were altered due to the amount of blades, blade angles,

and type of windmill.

Finally the GUI had to output an animation. If the Savonius option was selected from the

pop-up menu the animation would plot the Savonius blades spinning from a top view. If the

Darrieus option was selected then the GUI would plot the airfoils spinning from a top view. They

also drew from the wind speed slider. When the wind speed was increased the speed of the

Figure 5: Final GUI for the vertical axis wind turbine

animation would be increased, and the same happens for the power output. Incorporating all of

the objects listed above the final GUI is shown in Figure 5 below.

Discussion of Demonstration Performance

On demonstration day, the project team demonstrated the physical function of the VAWT

by measuring its electrical power output. The group demonstrated the Savonius model with three

and four scoops, then the Darrieus model with the airfoils positioned at zero degrees and with the

tails thirty degrees inward. From research, experimentation, and the GUI, the group expected that

the Savonius with three scoops and the Darrieus with the airfoil tails pointed thirty degrees

inward would generate the most electrical power. The VAWT performed exactly to these

expectations. Overall, the VAWT performed as expected compared to the predictions from the

GUI. There were no discrepancies between the GUI prediction and the actual power output from

the VAWT because the underlying mathematical equations in the GUI relied on an empirically

derived power coefficient. However, the power coefficient itself was approximately one-hundred

times below initial expectations, which means that the VAWT converted wind power to

electrical power about one-hundred times less efficiently than the group expected. This

inefficiency surprised the project team because the power output did not seem to match the

VAWT’s high spin rate. The project team attributed this inefficiency primarily to the simplicity

and high internal resistance of the motor attached to the axis of the VAWT. In addition, the gear

ratio between the axis and the motor was close to 1:1, which is not ideal and does not generate

much power. Moreover, the rubber band connecting the motor to the axis would slip at high

rotational velocities, which was one source of power loss. Finally, there were a few small contact

points between the VAWT’s axis and base that created friction, which was another source of

power loss. These sources of the VAWT’s inefficiency in converting wind power to electrical
power are the main areas for improvement. The most important improvement the project team

could make is altering the gear ratio between the axis and the motor so that the motor spins

multiple times for each rotation of the axis. This simple change would increase the power output

the most. Additionally, the group could utilize a more complex motor that has a lower internal

electrical resistance, which would increase the power output. Furthermore, the project team

could design a gear system to drive the motor’s rotation instead of the current rubber band in

order to prevent slipping.

References

1. http://www.reuk.co.uk/VAWT-Vertical-Axis-Wind-Turbine.htm, February 22, 2012

2. Jon Decoste, Denise McKay, Brian Robinson, Shaun Whitehead, and Stephen Wright,

(2005) http://poisson.me.dal.ca/~dp_05_2/Term%20Report%201st%20(Dec%205).pdf,

February 22, 2012.

3. Raymond A Serway and John W. Jewett, Jr. , (2010) Physics for Scientists and

Engineers, February 22, 2012.

Appendix

Find the code for the GUI and the corresponding functions on webfile.nd.edu in the CourseWare

path /afs/nd.edu/courses/eg/eg11112.02/dropbox/achmura/Final Project