The Effect of Blade Design and Wind Speed on the Electrical Output of a Vertical

Axis Wind Turbine

Ellen Pierce and Lindsey Shereda

Macomb Mathematics Science Technology Center

AP Physics

Section 12C

Mr. McMillan / Mr. May / Mrs. Tallman / Mr. Acre

6 December 2019
 The Effect of Blade Design and Wind Speed on the Electrical Output of a Vertical

Axis Wind Turbine

The purpose of this experiment was to compare the efficiency of two types of

vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) designs - Savonius or Darrieus - at high and low wind

speeds. Wind power is a rising alternative to current nonrenewable energy sources,

providing a long-term energy solution to prevent future damage to the climate. VAWTs

provide the potential to implement this power source in urban areas.

This study explored the reliability of two types of VAWTs to generate voltage. A

model of a Savonius and Darrieus rotor were constructed and attached to a computer fan

AC motor connected to a voltmeter. The two blade designs were tested for voltage output

repeatedly in a random order at the high and low wind speeds for a total of 30 trials for

each rotor type at each wind speed. The analysis of the results included 2 two-sample t

tests and a comparison of box plots of the Savonius and Darrieus trials at high and low

speeds. The Darrieus turbine at high speed produced the highest mean voltage of 0.480

volts and the Darrieus turbine at low speed produced the lowest mean voltage of 0.355

volts. The Savonius turbine generated an average voltage of 0.410 volts at low speed and

an average voltage of 0.477 volts at a high speed. Previous research suggests that the

Darrieus design is more efficient at higher speeds, and the Savonius blade is more suited

for lower speeds; however, it was concluded from the t tests that there was no significant

difference in the mean voltage outputs of the Savonius and Darrieus data sets at high

wind speed and the Savonius and Darrieus outputs at low speed. This is likely due to

errors in the design of the experiment. However, the observations offer insight on the

behavior of each turbine, revealing their strengths and supporting previous research.
 Table of Contents

Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1

Review of Literature ............................................................................................................3

Problem Statement ...............................................................................................................9

Experimental Design ..........................................................................................................10

Data and Observations .......................................................................................................18

Data Analysis and Interpretation .......................................................................................31

Conclusion .........................................................................................................................38

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................43

Appendix A: Base and Turbine CAD in SolidWorks ........................................................44

Appendix B: Randomization Procedure ............................................................................48

Appendix C: Professional Contact Assistance ...................................................................49

Appendix D: Two-Sample t Test Process and Sample Calculations .................................51

Works Cited .......................................................................................................................54

 Pierce - Shereda 1

Introduction

The United States consumed approximately ​101,251,057,000,000,000 (101.3

quadrillion) British thermal units (BTU) of energy in 2018. Around 80% was provided by

fossil fuels, which are harmful to the environment and have a limited time of use (“U.S.

Energy Facts Explained”). ​As such, a sense of urgency surrounds the climate crisis in

today’s society, demanding the creation of new sustainable solutions for energy

consumption. It is especially important for these new methods to be implemented on a

large scale so the dependency on fossil fuels and nonrenewable resources can be

transferred to renewable sources to remediate current climate damage.

An age old renewable energy source, wind energy, can be revisited and innovated

to turn the tide of climate decay. The research at hand focuses on vertical axis wind

turbines, or VAWTs, and examines two common designs for a VAWT that could be

installed on a large scale on the roof of buildings in residential and urban areas, where

they are typically found, as opposed to wind farms, or large open fields filled with wind

turbines (Pedder). The two types of VAWT designs tested were Savonius and Darrieus

type turbines. The Savonius turbine features “S” - shaped blades to catch the wind and

uses drag force to rotate. On the other hand, the Darrieus turbine is lift-based turbine with

multiple vertically straight blades which have an airfoil shape (Siddiqui). With these two

different physical components used to generate energy, the effect of blade design and

wind speed, high or low, were tested to determine which turbine generated the greatest

average voltage. This experiment aims to explore the reliability of VAWTs and their

potential for residential use.

 Pierce - Shereda 2

In this research, the goal was to test the effect of turbine design and wind speed

on the electrical output of a vertical axis wind turbine. A standard H-rotor, or

straight-bladed, orientation was used for the Darrieus wind turbine. For the Savonius

turbine, a two-stage design with added end plates above, below, and between the sets of

blades was used. These two types of VAWTs were tested at two wind speeds, high and

low, and compared based on their average electrical output over a fixed period of time. A

leaf blower with two different types of buffers - two pieces of furnace filter and one piece

of foam for high speed and two pieces of foam and one piece of furnace filter for low

speed - was placed within a wind tunnel and turned on to allow the two turbines types to

generate voltage over a 15 second time interval. Voltage was generated by connecting a

shaft holding the rotor directly to a computer fan which served as an AC motor, and, as it

rotated, voltage was generated. For each combination of blade design and wind speed, 30

trials were performed, and the average voltage outputs from each group were compared

to determine the efficiency of the two rotor types. After analyzing the boxplots for each

wind turbine at both wind speeds, two separate two-sample ​t​ tests were carried out

comparing the efficiencies of both turbines at the two different wind speeds tested.

In brief, research carried out on different types of VAWT designs offers insight

into potential solutions to counteract climate change by decreasing the use of fossil fuels.

The scientific community, specifically environmental engineers or those looking to

implement new energy sources, can benefit from the results of the research by

determining the most efficient VAWT type to install into residential areas such as

neighborhoods or corporate locations based on the wind speed in that particular setting.
 Pierce - Shereda 3

Review of Literature

Promising renewable energy sources such as wind energy, harvested through

wind turbines, offer a solution to dangerous dependence on fossil fuels. Vertical axis

wind turbines, or VAWTs, are types of turbines in which the rotor is positioned

perpendicular to wind flow, and the force of wind is converted into torque from a rotating

shaft.

Figure 1. Darrieus and Savonius Rotors. Image from Siddiqui, Ali Shan, et. al (2016).
255. Experimental Investigations of Hybrid Vertical Axis Wind Turbine.

As pictured above, two main types of VAWT designs are the Darrieus (a) and

Savonius (b) turbines. A Savonius VAWT features two half-circle blades that are

positioned to appear as an “S” shape from above with disk shaped end plates intended to

hold the blades together and direct air flow into the blades themselves. The main

scientific concept associated with the Savonius turbine is drag. On the other hand,

Darrieus turbines are lift focused, with airfoil shaped blades that can be straight or

twisted on spokes or curved and attached at the top and bottom of the rotor.
 Pierce - Shereda 4

Figure 2. Drag Forces on Savonius Turbine Blades. Image from Siddiqui, Ali Shan, et. al.
“255. Experimental Investigations of Hybrid Vertical Axis Wind Turbine”, 2016.

The “S” - shaped design of Savonius blades are rotated by drag forces, or the

forces of wind pushing against the surface of the blade. As Figure 2 displays, in either

direction there is a convex and a concave portion of the blade. The drag force of the wind

captured by the concave side is greater than the opposing drag of the convex piece,

causing the blade to rotate (“Lift and Drag”). This generates a relatively high amount of

torque, or the force that produces rotational motion, perpendicular to the rightward

rotation in the image (in the direction of the shaft upward on the turbines), according to

the right hand rule for torque, and gives this turbine the ability to self-start (“Right Hand

Rule”). As a result, Savonius blades are more efficient at lower wind speeds. On the other

hand, Darrieus blades have a low starting torque and are therefore less inclined to

self-start. In addition, Darrieus blades are designed for higher wind speeds and rely on lift

to rotate (Ebrahimpour).
 Pierce - Shereda 5

Figure 3. Flow Field Around Darrieus Airfoil Blade. Image from ​“Lift and Drag.”
Coherent Application Threads (CATS)​, Boston University College of Engineering.

As pictured in Figure 3, lift forces use the difference in air pressure on either side

of the airfoil blade to generate motion perpendicular to the wind. The higher pressure on

the bottom of the blade allows the wind to push the blade upward. Lift-type turbines are

generally more efficient than drag-type because they rotate faster than the wind despite

producing a low starting torque in comparison to drag-type turbines, making lift-type

turbines harder to start (Siddiqui).

Figure 4. Air Flow Diagram Darrieus Turbine. Image from ​“Darrieus Vertical Wind
Turbines.” ​Darrieus Wind Turbines​, ANew Institute, 2018.

The figure above shows a four stage visual to describe the air flow at four

different stages of the Darrieus rotor turning. The wind “catches” the thicker end of the
 Pierce - Shereda 6

airfoil and creates a force that pushes on this end, causing the airfoil to rotate to the left,

as oriented in Figure 4. At the first stage, W1, when the wind comes in contact with the

Darrieus blade, it loses some of its speed while giving some of its energy to the system.

At W2, the air flow “...​has the space and time to accelerate its speed up to W3.”​ The air

flow contacts the blade again at W3, and transfers energy once again, equivalent to

approximately 45% of the energy from the air flow at W1. Additionally, the blade in W4

“...​takes energy from the same airflow twice” and has time to partially restore speed

between the time the air enters and exits the turbine. ​The ability for quicker wind speed

recovery and acceleration of rotation at the W2 and W4 stages in Figure 4 allows the

Darrieus turbine design to reach higher efficiencies than other VAWT designs such as the

Savonius turbine (“Darrieus Vertical”).

There are several different models of VAWTs that fall under the Savonius and

Darrieus categories. Savonius turbines can have two, three, or four blades. For this

experiment, two semi-circular blades were used for the Savonius type turbine based off

previous research conducted in this field. M. Hadi Ali, lecturer at the University of

Mustansiriya, and colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the efficiency of two

and three blade Savonius rotors. He concluded that the rotor with two blades had a higher

power coefficient, and is therefore more effective than Savonius turbines with more

blades (Siddiqui). On the other hand, Darrieus blades can be straight or curved. Frank

Scheurich, rotor aeromechanics professor at the University of Glasgow, concluded from a

study that the straight-bladed design is less “...vulnerable to dynamic stalling” than
 Pierce - Shereda 7

curved blades and is easier to construct (Siddiqui). As such, the straight-bladed (H-rotor)

Darrieus design was chosen for this experiment.

For the turbines to generate electricity, a small computer fan was attached to the

spinning turbine shaft. When the interactions between the wind and turbine create torque,

the shaft rotates the wire in the motor. This creates an electromagnet, producing a

magnetic field that interacts with other magnets and induces a current in the wire

(Torres). The voltage created by the moving electrons in the wire can then be measured

using a voltmeter.

Figure 5. Power Output Versus Wind Speed for Savonius Wind Turbines With and
Without End Plates. Image from Mahmoud, N.H., et al. “An Experimental Study on
Improvement of Savonius Rotor Performance.” ​Alexandria Engineering Journal,​ vol. 51,
no. 1, 2012, pp. 19–25., doi:10.1016/j.aej.2012.07.003.

Figure 5 above depicts the change in power output of a Savonius VAWT with and

without end plates at a variety of wind speeds. End plates on a Savonius turbine are disks

that are attached to the top and bottom (and middle if the rotor is multistage) of the “S” -

shaped blades to hold them together. As a general trend, higher wind speeds and the

addition of end plates on the rotor produce higher power outputs in all cases.
 Pierce - Shereda 8

P
V = I

The equation above shows voltage, V, set equal to power, P, divided by current, I

(“Electric Power Formula”). As Figure 5 shows, the Savonius turbine with end plates

produces a higher power output in all cases of wind speed compared to the blades without

end plates. In the case of this experiment, a higher amount of power indicates higher

voltage assuming the current is held constant in the equation above. Therefore, the

Savonius wind turbine in this experiment used end plates. Furthermore, in a study of

Savonius turbines conducted by N.H. Mahmoud, “Double stage rotors had higher

performances than single stage rotors” (Mahmoud). The Savonius blades for this

experiment were designed and built with two levels to promote maximum efficiency.

As formerly discussed, previous research on both Savonius and Darrieus VAWTs

suggest that the Darrieus turbine will produce the greatest electrical output in this

experiment due to its quick wind speed recovery (“Darrieus Vertical”). According to Hill,

“Of the two vertical machines the Darrieus configuration offers greater efficiency and

lower weight making it the more attractive for most applications.” Disadvantages of this

blade type include high stress placed on the blades by high levels of torque causing the

rotor to spin faster which forces the blades to bend toward the outside of the rotation, low

starting torque (meaning it does not self start as it lacks the force to produce rotation

initially), and generally lower efficiency compared to HAWTs. However, Darrieus

VAWTs are easy to access for repairs, produce low levels of noise pollution, and have a

simplistic blade design (Hill). The apparent advantages to this type of wind turbine merit

further exploration of the possibility for large scale use.

 Pierce - Shereda 9

Problem Statement

Problem Statement​:

To determine the effect of blade design (Savonius or Darrieus) and wind speed

(high and low) on the electrical output of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) in a wind

tunnel.

Hypothesis​:

If two different VAWT blade designs, Savonius and Darrieus, are allowed to

generate electricity over a fixed period of time at two different wind speeds (high and

low), then the Darrieus blade design will produce the largest voltage output at a high

wind speed setting and the Savonius blade design will produce the largest voltage at a

low wind speed setting.

Data Measured​:

The dependent variable measured was the electrical output (volts) determined by

a voltmeter connected to a direct current motor attached to the rotating shaft of the

turbine through a pulley system. The independent variables were the type of blade,

Savonius or Darrieus, and the wind speed within the wind tunnel (high or low). The data

was analyzed using descriptive statistics and 2 two-sample ​t t​ ests for each wind speed

that compare the voltage outputs of both turbines. Each turbine was tested for 30 trials

per wind speed setting for a total of 120 trials. The order of trials was randomized using

the random integer function on the TI-Nspire CX calculator.

 Pierce - Shereda 10

Experimental Design

Materials​:

(4) ½” Aluminum Churro Shafts, 3⅛” Long Wind Tunnel

1⁄2” Aluminum Churro Shaft, 14½” Long Leaf Blower
(16) ¼” Flat Washers Furnace Filter and Foam Pieces
(4) ¼-20 Socket Head Bolts, 1½” Long 1½” x 3½” x 4½” Wooden Block
(4) ¼-20 Hex Head Bolts, 1” Long Stopwatch
(9) 1⅛” Diameter Brass Rod, 1” Long TI-NSpire Calculator CX
(2) ½” Hex Bearings Heat Gun
(4) 78.8 x 72.5 mm x 1 mm Lexan Krazy Glue Super Glue
(2) Ground Lugs Deburrer
(2) 6-32 Bolts, ½” Long Electric Sander
(2) 6-32 Nuts 3-In-One Motor Oil SAE 20
(2) Ringlets Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Voltmeter Vice
2” Diameter PVC Pipe Solder
DC12V Cooler Master Computer Fan Computer with Solidworks CAD
3D Printer and Filament Program

Procedures​:

Setting up the Base Structure

1. Using an electric sander, sand off the raft of filament on the two 3D printed base
pieces. Make sure no filament remains in the cutouts for the bolts and bearings.

2. Tap all of the churro shafts on both ends for ¼-20 threads 1” deep.

3. Attach the two base pieces together using four 3.125” shaft pieces and 4 socket
head bolts with 3 washers on the top and 4 hex head bolts with one washer on the
bottom.

4. Secure each ground lug to the bottom piece of the base structure with a 6-32 nut
and bolt and solder the black wire to one of the lugs using a ringlet. Solder the red
wire to the other ground lug.

Setting up the Turbines

1. Using the Solidworks CAD program, design and 3D print three Darrieus airfoil
blades, Darrieus end plates, and Savonius turbine end plates (see Appendix A).
 Pierce - Shereda 11

2. Wrap a piece of 78.8 x 72.5 x 1.00 mm lexan around a 2 inch piece of PVC pipe
and secure the ends in a vice. Heat the entire surface of the lexan for
approximately 30 seconds, and allow it to cool for one minute. Repeat this step
for all four pieces of lexan.

3. Coat the bottom of two of the curved blades in super glue and insert them into the
slots on the bottom Savonius end plate then repeat the process attaching the
blades to the middle plate and the next set of blades to the middle and top plates.

4. Cut nine 1 inch pieces of the thin metal rod to be used as pins for the Darrieus
blades.

5. Using super glue, secure the pins in the circular cutouts on the Darrieus blade
pieces, creating three Darrieus blades with the rectangular pegs on the top and
bottom.

6. Snap the pegs of the Darrieus blades into the end plates on the top and bottom of
the three Darrieus blades, ensuring the tails of all three blades are pointing in the
same direction. If the pegs do not fit into the end plates, deburr the cutouts in the
end plates to accommodate.

Running the Experiment

1. Randomize trials using the procedure detailed in Appendix B.

2. Place the shaft in the wind tunnel from the opening underneath and attach the
correct rotor for the first trial onto the shaft.

3. Connect the voltmeter to the computer fan by attaching it to the ground lugs.

4. Place the correct buffer combination (two pieces of furnace filter, one piece of
foam for high wind speed; one piece of furnace filter, two pieces of foam for low
wind speed) into the wind tunnel.

5. Set the leaf blower in the wind tunnel with the intake against the buffer layers.
Prop the outtake on a small wooden block to direct the airflow towards the
turbine.

6. Make sure the wind tunnel is fully sealed, and then run the leaf blower on the first
power setting for 15 seconds using the stopwatch.

7. Record the maximum voltage output observed on the two voltmeters.

8. Repeat step 2 through 6 for all 120 trials, 30 per wind speed per turbine, and
record observations.
 Pierce - Shereda 12

Diagrams​:

Figure 6. Initial CAD Assembly

The image above depicts the initial full assembly prior to any construction of the

turbines or base structure. The measurements used were scaled down from the diagram in

Figure 1 by one-third for the purpose of this experiment, but the general design is

consistent. The diameter of the Darrieus end plates were also altered to be equivalent to

the diameter of the Savonius turbine pictured. Throughout the building process, many

mechanical changes were implemented so data could be measured. For instance, the

motor which was to be attached to the shaft with a pulley system was swapped out for a

computer fan that was attached directly to the shaft underneath the base structure. In

addition, the Darrieus turbine pictured was shortened to match the height of the Savonius

turbine in order to reduce weight and, in turn, reduce friction.

 Pierce - Shereda 13

Figure 7. Darrieus Blade Construction

The image above depicts the process for attaching the two 3D printed halves of

the Darrieus blades together. Metal pins were inserted into the holes on both of the blades

and super glue was used as adhesive. A strip of electrical tape was also added around the

conjunction of the two blades to further secure the blades.

Figure 8. Attaching the End Plates

As the figure above shows on the left, the Darrieus turbine blade pegs were

attached to the cutouts on the end plates. The cutouts on the end plates were deburred to

get the exact fit for the blade pegs. To the right in the figure above, an example of the
 Pierce - Shereda 14

Savonius end plate is pictured. The semi-circular slots shown are where the curved pieces

of lexan were inserted and secured by super glue to construct the Savonius turbine. These

slots were rotated on two of the end plates to create the offset facing blades in the

double-staged Savonius rotor pictured in Figures 1, 6, and 11.

Figure 9. Attaching the Computer Fan

The image above shows a top down view of the bottom of the base structure. The

computer fan is hot glued to the bottom of the structure and its rotating center is aligned

with the shaft cutout.

 Pierce - Shereda 15

Figure 10. Experimental Setup of the Base Structure

Figure 10 above depicts the experimental setup for the base structure on which the

rotors was placed. The shaft above the electrical tape held the Savonius or Darrieus

turbine inside of the wind tunnel. A computer fan was attached to the shaft underneath

the base, and the voltage and current the turbine generates within the wind tunnel were

measured by the voltmeter connected to the computer fan with ground lugs and ringlets.
 Pierce - Shereda 16

Figure 11. Assembled Turbines

The image above shows the completed assemblies of the Savonius (left) and

Darrieus (right) turbines. All parts were 3D printed except for the lexan on the Savonius

turbine (see Appendix A for specifics on the CAD). Electrical tape was added to the

middle of each blade on the Darrieus turbine before trials were run to reinforce the pins

holding the two parts of the blades together. Professional contact Nolan VanWormer

aided the researchers in the design and CAD model of the turbines and the base structure

(see Appendix C).

 Pierce - Shereda 17

Figure 12. Wind Turbine Setup

The image above displays setup of the Darrieus turbine and the leaf blower with

the buffers in the wind tunnel. The experiment was conducted in the wind tunnel to

concentrate and contain the air flow and remove any outside confounding variables. The

turbine blades were removed from the shaft and replaced with the Savonius rotor

depending on the trial type. The leaf blower was also removed each trial to change the

buffer combination as directed by the wind speed needed.

 Pierce - Shereda 18

Data and Observations

In this experiment, two different blade designs for a vertical axis wind turbine

were tested at a low and a high wind speed. The following tables show the voltage data

collection and the observations for each trial.

Table 1
Voltage Output for Savonius Turbine at High Wind Speed
Savonius Turbine at High Wind Speed
Trial Voltage Output Trial Voltage Output
Number (Volts) Number (Volts)
1 0.528 16 0.595
2 0.461 17 0.460
3 0.631 18 0.459
4 0.455 19 0.526
5 0.617 20 0.527
6 0.363 21 0.454
7 0.257 22 0.417
8 0.392 23 0.547
9 0.450 24 0.580
10 0.630 25 0.600
11 0.566 26 0.260
12 0.446 27 0.345
13 0.515 28 0.428
14 0.413 29 0.439
15 0.500 30 0.440
Average: 0.477

Table 1 above lists the voltage outputs from the 30 trials with Savonius rotors at

high speed. The lowest output yielded was 0.257 volts and the highest output was 0.631

volts. The average voltage output of the turbine with these conditions was 0.477 volts.
 Pierce - Shereda 19

Table 2
Voltage Output for Savonius Turbine at Low Wind Speed
Savonius Turbine at Low Wind Speed
Trial Voltage Output Trial Voltage Output
Number (Volts) Number (Volts)
31 0.338 46 0.284
32 0.199 47 0.566
33 0.417 48 0.572
34 0.382 49 0.480
35 0.351 50 0.188
36 0.341 51 0.304
37 0.520 52 0.530
38 0.460 53 0.211
39 0.490 54 0.495
40 0.374 55 0.434
41 0.233 56 0.592
42 0.444 57 0.244
43 0.210 58 0.442
44 0.545 59 0.592
45 0.568 60 0.495
Average: 0.410

Table 2 above displays the voltage readings from the Savonius blade at low speed

trials. The lowest output was 0.188 and the highest was 0.592 volts. The average voltage

output for this type was 0.410 volts which is 0.067 volts less than the average for

Savonius blades at high speeds.

 Pierce - Shereda 20

Table 3
Voltage Output for Darrieus Turbine at High Wind Speed
Darrieus Turbine at High Wind Speed
Trial Voltage Output Trial Voltage Output
Number (Volts) Number (Volts)
61 0.638 76 0.303
62 0.414 77 0.603
63 0.551 78 0.125
64 0.637 79 0.447
65 0.575 80 0.679
66 0.559 81 0.220
67 0.658 82 0.374
68 0.617 83 0.154
69 0.560 84 0.580
70 0.156 85 0.528
71 0.650 86 0.233
72 0.280 87 0.468
73 0.555 88 0.411
74 0.490 89 0.652
75 0.658 90 0.634
Average: 0.480

The trials of Darrieus blades at high wind speeds yielded the voltage outputs

shown in the table above. The lowest trial was 0.125 volts and the highest was 0.679

volts. The average voltage output from these 30 trials was 0.480 volts, which is 0.003

volts higher than the average voltage yielded from the Savonius blades at high speeds.
 Pierce - Shereda 21

Table 4
Voltage Output for Darrieus Turbine at Low Wind Speed
Darrieus Turbine at Low Wind Speed
Trial Voltage Output Trial Voltage Output
Number (Volts) Number (Volts)
91 0.268 106 0.148
92 0.240 107 0.622
93 0.154 108 0.480
94 0.606 109 0.111
95 0.160 110 0.467
96 0.306 111 0.111
97 0.253 112 0.499
98 0.235 113 0.113
99 0.635 114 0.101
100 0.275 115 0.533
101 0.408 116 0.130
102 0.158 117 0.530
103 0.512 118 0.157
104 0.643 119 0.606
105 0.661 120 0.536
Average: 0.355

Table 4 shows the results from the Darrieus blade at low speed trials. The lowest

voltage output occurred at 0.101 volts. The highest reading was 0.661 volts. The average

electrical output of the Darrieus low trials was 0.355 volts. This is 0.107 volts less than

the average Darrieus high output and 0.055 volts less than the average from the Savonius

low trials.
 Pierce - Shereda 22

Table 5
Observations
Trial Turbine
Day Observations
Number Type
57 SL The turbine self-started and got up to speed quickly.
The turbine required a push to start. The researchers had to
93 DL
manually start the Darrieus turbines from this point onward.
The turbine began to slow down about half way through the
78 DH 30 second time period and reached a low voltage of 0.05
volts.
35 SL The speed increased in value during the allotted time period.
10/23
51 SL The voltage leveled out at about 10 seconds.
The shaft was hitting the wind tunnel at first and adjusted to
27 SH
be centered then it sped up and leveled off.
The turbine leveled off at about 2 volts by the end of 15
32 SL
seconds.
The researchers had to hold the base to keep the base from
50 SL
vibrating. This adjustment was made for the rest of trials.
The turbine appeared to move at a steady rate. The
113 DL researchers placed a new battery in the leaf blower before
this trial.
The turbine started hitting the side of the wind tunnel, but it
114 DL
was adjusted and allowed to level off.
111 DL The trial took longer than 15 seconds to get up to speed.
The turbine may have been hitting the side of the wind
116 DL
tunnel so it was moved to be centered.
10/24 83 DH The trial ran smoothly and did not experience any wobbling.

70 DH The trial was consistent with the last trial of the same type.

6 SH The turbine got up to speed quickly.

The turbine appeared to hit a speed ramp at roughly 25
76 DH
seconds.
The trial was stopped promptly at 15 seconds because the
72 DH turbine reached a high speed and showed no signs of
slowing.
 Pierce - Shereda 23

Trial Turbine
Day Observations
Number Type
This trial was redone because the voltmeter shut off mid
106 DL trial. The block slid so the placement was adjusted back to
its original position.
The turbine hit a speed ramp right at the end of the 15
10/24 62 DH seconds, so the data recorded may not reflect the highest
voltage this turbine can reach.
The researchers had to stop the trial for safety reasons at 10
74 DH
seconds.
A new battery was put in the leaf blower before trial. The
46 SL foam was difficult to place behind leaf blower on this trial so
it may not have completely covered the intake.
The trial was redone because the foam was not covering the
22 SH intake fully. The voltage was still noticeably higher than
previous trials even after the adjustment.
1 SH The turbine moved much faster than previous trials.
The turbine slowed down during the latter half of the
53 SL
interval.
The turbine did not slow down like the previous trial of the
41 SL
same type.
The researchers had to lift up the leaf blower so the air flow
88 DH
was directed to the center of the turbine.
10/25 This was the fastest trial so far, so the trial was stopped
63 DH swiftly after the 15 second mark to avoid damage to the
turbine.
The turbine did not pick up speed during allotted interval
81 DH
and the shaft was wobbling loudly.
Now that leaf blower has been adjusted to point at the
13 SH center, the Savonius high speed trials seem to be running
much faster.
The shaft wobbling was very loud and the turbine did not
100 DL
pick up speed like previous trials.
The turbine hit a speed ramp where the turbine picked up
79 DH
speed in a short time period after 10 seconds.
The trial showed a higher voltage than other Savonius low
42 SL
trials.
 Pierce - Shereda 24

Trial Turbine
Day Observations
Number Type
It took longer than usual for the turbine to get up to speed.
87 DH This trial was redone because the air flow was not centered
on the turbine.
This trial was redone because it generated 0.08 volts on the
95 DL
first try which is inconsistent with previous trials.
The turbine got up to speed quickly and the shaft wobbled at
21 SH
first.
The researchers had to adjust the leaf blower again because
118 DL it slipped down and was not pointing at the center of the
turbine.
The shaft is still loud and wobbling but otherwise the
9 SH
readings were consistent with previous trials.
The turbine stalled for a couple of seconds at around 0.2
30 SH
volts.
10/25
65 DH The researchers had to adjust the center of air flow.
The same air flow position as last trial was used but it did
15 SH
not get up to a comparable speed.
The center of air flow was adjusted to make sure the air was
102 DL
centered on the turbine.
The turbine picked up speed quickly and was the fastest
91 DL
Darrieus low speed trial run so far.
66 DH The turbine took longer to hit the speed ramp.
The horizontal position of the leaf blower was adjusted to be
97 DL
centered.
69 DH The turbine hit the speed ramp quickly and did not wobble.

33 SL The turbine picked up speed easily like other Savonius trials.

The turbine slowed down over the interval with a peak at
109 DL
about 0.12 volts before it reached its threshold.
26 SH The voltage was low for a Savonius high speed trial.
10/29
The trial was comparable in speed to the last Savonius high
43 SL
trial which is out of the ordinary for Savonius low.
86 DH The turbine did not pick up speed quickly.
 Pierce - Shereda 25

Trial Turbine
Day Observations
Number Type
The trial was still slower than expected possibly because of
7 SH
the battery in the leaf blower running out of charge.
The turbine generated the most voltage today so far and
31 SL
there was no noticeable shaft wobble.
4 SH The shaft stopped wobbling and the readings leveled off.
The trial was consistent with previous readings and there
18 SH
was no shaft wobble.
The turbine hit the speed ramp which is unusual at a low
117 DL
speed.
The researchers heard a the shaft wobble and the reading
28 SH
was slightly lower than expected.
36 SL The shaft wobbled at first but straightened out.
The trial was the fastest yet but it took longer to get up to
77 DH
speed.
The turbine hit a threshold where the voltage readings
12 SH
leveled off.
10/29 The shaft wobbled at first and the researchers had to adjust
92 DL
direction of air flow to be centered.
The shaft hit the wind tunnel when it started but that was
8 SH adjusted and it still had a decent amount of time to get up to
speed.
98 DL The turbine took longer than expected to get up to speed.
The last couple of trials were slower because leaf blower
82 DH
battery began to lose charge.
The battery was switched out before this trial and the
2 SH
researchers noticed a significant amount of shaft wobble.
17 SH The shaft wobbled a lot throughout the trial.
The trial ran smoothly and the shaft did not make a lot of
34 SL
noise.
40 SL The shaft wobble sounded more violent throughout this trial.
There was a lot of shaft wobble at the start but the
29 SH researchers were able to stabilize the turbine by holding
down the base.
 Pierce - Shereda 26

Trial Turbine
Day Observations
Number Type
The shaft began to wobble dramatically but after hitting the
110 DL
speed ramp it straightened out.
Many of the Darrieus low trials, including this one, are
101 DL
hitting the speed ramp today.
10/29
The turbine hit the ramp much later than the two previous
96 DL trials of the same type so it did not get up to quite as high of
a speed.
14 SH The trial was slow for a Savonius trial but it did level off.
The shaft wobbled violently but straightened out about
73 DH
halfway through the trial.
112 DL The trial ran smoothly with no initial shaft wobble.
The shaft wobbled violently which prohibited the turbine to
85 DH
get up to speed.
The trial was faster than the previous Darrieus high trial
115 DL
because it hit the speed ramp earlier on.
The turbine picked up speed quickly with little resistance
52 SL
from the shaft allowing the threshold to be a higher voltage.
94 DL The turbine moved quickly and hit the speed ramp early.
The turbine hit the speed ramp later than the previous trial of
103 DL
the same type.
10/30
The trial appears to be faster than usual, but it is not the
24 SH
fastest trial of the day.
This trial was the fastest so far and experienced very little
68 DH resistance from the shaft, allowing it to get up to speed
quickly.
119 DL Again, the shaft did not wobble and hit speed ramp early.

44 SL The trial ran smooth and got up to speed quickly.

16 SH The shaft began to wobble toward the end of the 15 seconds.

The turbine reached a high speed, although it did experience
25 SH
resistance from the shaft.
The voltage reading decreased within the last couple of
54 SL
seconds of the trial.
 Pierce - Shereda 27

Trial Turbine
Day Observations
Number Type
The voltage appears to be decreasing as the battery of the
108 DL
leaf blower depletes.
The turbine stayed at the threshold for about 3 seconds and
11 SH
got up to speed quickly.
The trial ran smoothly but the readings were still lower than
55 SL
expected.
The voltage was higher than the previous trial of the same
49 SL
type.
Unlike other Darrieus trials, the turbine appeared to hit a
84 DH
threshold before the end of the 15 seconds.
The readings were consistent with previous trials of the
39 SL
same type.
The Savonius low trials, including this one, seem to be
60 SL
leveling off quickly today.
20 SH The trial ran smoothly and the voltage readings consistent.

10/30 The voltage was very close to the previous Savonius high
37 SL
trial.
19 SH The turbine did not experience a lot of shaft wobble.
There was a noticeable shift from the shaft wobbling to
23 SH
straightening out which allowed it to reach a high speed.
The turbine experienced very little resistance and this trial is
90 DH
the highest voltage reading so far.
58 SL The shaft experienced some wobbling at first.
The shaft wobbling occurred throughout the entire trial
38 SL
duration.
71 DH This trial had the highest voltage reading so far.
The voltage reading was higher than usual but not as high as
64 DH
the Darrieus turbine at high speed.
The shaft wobbled about halfway through, slowing down the
120 DL
final speed.
The voltage readings seem high for a Savonius low trial. The
10/31 45 SL
shaft had minimal wobble.
 Pierce - Shereda 28

Trial Turbine
Day Observations
Number Type
The voltage was sustained at 0.617 for a few seconds. The
5 SH high reading may be the result of a new battery in the leaf
blower.
This trial produced an even higher reading than the first
59 SL
Savonius low trial today. The rotor picked up speed quickly.
This is one of the highest Darrieus low trials due to the
107 DL
turbine hitting the speed ramp early on.
There was little wobble in the shaft, and the rotor spun very
56 SL
fast for a Savonius low trial.
The highest voltage yet was observed in this trial. The shaft
80 DH wobbled violently before it hit straightened and hit the speed
ramp.
This trial was very fast for a Darrieus low trial as it was
105 DL
comparable in voltage to Darrieus high trials.
The trial is higher than previous days but consistent with
3 SH
other Savonius high trials from today.
There seems to be a big difference in voltage between this
10/31 47 SL
trial and the previous Savonius high trial.
The turbine hit a threshold at 0.640 volts but then continued
89 DH
to gain speed.
The turbine got up to speed fast and experienced very little
48 SL
resistance. This trial was filmed.
The turbine reached a threshold then decreased in voltage by
10 SH
about 0.01 volts.
The voltage seemed to level off at 0.638 volts before the
61 DH
time ran out.
The turbine hit the speed ramp and the voltage reading was
99 DL
comparable to trials at high speed.
The turbine picked up speed quickly and the readings were
67 DH
large for a low speed trial.
The readings were consistent with the last trial of the same
75 DH
type.
The turbine got up to a high speed and the voltage was
104 DL
higher than expected for a low speed trial.
 Pierce - Shereda 29

Table 5 above notes important observations in each of the 120 trials run. For the

turbine types, “SL”and “SH” represent the Savonius turbine at a low and high wind speed

respectively, and “DL” and “DH” represent the Darrieus turbine at a low and high wind

speed respectively. One notable recurring observation was for the Darrieus low trials, was

that the direction of airflow had to be adjusted for the turbine to spin. These trials would

occasionally hit a speed ramp, an observed occurrence where the rotational speed of the

turbine increased greatly in a short period of time and produce a larger voltage output,

while the Darrieus high trials almost always hit the speed ramp. The Savonius rotor often

sped up quickly but hit a threshold on the voltage reading, where the Darrieus outputs

would continue increasing throughout the duration of the trial. The highest voltage output

was observed in trial 80, a Darrieus high wind speed trial, and it was noted that the shaft

wobbled violently before straightening out and quickly gaining speed. The lowest output

observed was trial 114, a Darrieus low speed trial, due to the shaft hitting the side of the

wind tunnel. This issue was fixed for the following trials.
 Pierce - Shereda 30

Figure 13. Darrieus Turbine Blade Bending

The rightmost image above shows how near the end of trials, the blades of the

Darrieus turbine were noticeably bowed out compared to how they stood prior to

experimentation as pictured in the left image. The tape and pins within the blade were

implemented to keep the turbine intact. However, after roughly 100 trials the blades

appear to be curved. The centripetal force of the spinning rotor placed stress on the blades

over time, causing this slight deformation. This occurred within the last 5 trials involving

Darrieus blades, so the curved shape most likely did not have an impact on the rotor’s

overall performance.
 Pierce - Shereda 31

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The data in this experiment was collected by observing the highest voltage

generated by a wind turbine on a voltmeter during a 15 second trial interval. The

performance of the Savonius and Darrieus type turbine blade designs based on the

voltage output were compared at low and high speeds. The box plot below was used to

compare the Savonius and Darrieus turbines at low and high speeds based on overlap,

variability, and skewness.

Figure 14. Box Plots of Savonius and Darrieus Rotors at High and Low Wind Speeds

Figure 14 above depicts box plots for each rotor type at both high and low wind

speeds. Based on a visual assessment, there is overlap among each of the box plots,

indicating that no one rotor type at a specific wind speed seemed to produce significantly

higher or lower readings when compared with a different rotor type at the same wind
 Pierce - Shereda 32

speed. The box plots for the Savonius turbine at a low speed and the Darrieus turbine at a

high speed appear to be slightly left skewed with mean values less than their respective

medians. On the other hand, the Savonius turbine at a high speed and the Darrieus turbine

at a low speed are slightly right skewed with mean values greater than the median.

However, despite the small amount of skewness noted, the box plots all appear fairly

normally distributed.

When examining the variability of the box plots, the Darrieus turbine at a low

wind speed has the largest range of voltage recordings, spanning from 0.154 to 0.661

volts. The interquartile range of this box plot is also the largest at 0.378. The large

amount of variability for this trial type makes sense when examining the observations for

the Darrieus turbine at a low speed because the turbine would occasionally hit a speed

ramp at low speed, but if it did not hit the speed ramp, the reading would be

comparatively much lower. The speed ramp which the Darrieus turbine occasionally hit

at low speed was almost always achieved at a high wind speed, which is why the

variability for the Darrieus turbine at a high wind speed box plot is somewhat less with a

much smaller interquartile range of 0.279. However, the Darrieus type rotor was much

more variable than the Savonius rotor overall because the spread of data for the Savonius

rotor at both high and low wind speeds were more concentrated than the Darrieus rotor at

both wind speeds. The smallest amount of variability occurred with the Savonius turbine

at a high wind speed likely because, as it was noted in the observations, the Savonius

turbine would reach a threshold at high speed where the voltage would level off during
 Pierce - Shereda 33

the 15 second interval, therefore making the overall readings most consistent for this trial

type.

Because of the amount of overlap in the box plots of the same wind speed, two

separate two-sample ​t​ tests must be conducted to determine the significance, if any, of the

data. Two-sample ​t​ tests were chosen because the data comes from two separate

populations, Savonius and Darrieus turbines, and the researchers intended to determine

the difference in performance of the two designs both at a low wind speed and high wind

speed based on sample means. Because the two populations are the Darrieus and

Savonius turbine types, the box plots of the two turbines must be examined at high and

low wind speeds separately. At high wind speed, the Savonius rotor sample mean is less

than the Darrieus turbine sample mean, and at a low wind speed, the Savonius rotor

sample mean is greater than the Darrieus rotor sample mean. Based on the analysis of the

means, the high wind speed two-sample​ t​ test should test for the Darrieus sample mean

being higher than the Savonius sample mean, and the low wind speed two-sample ​t​ test

should test for the Savonius sample mean being higher than the Darrieus sample mean.

Before a two-sample ​t​ test can be carried out, certain assumptions must be met.

Firstly, the data must display normality. The Central Limit Theorem states that, if a

sample of a population is large enough ( ≥ 30), then the mean of all samples from this

same population will be approximately equal to the true mean of the population. Since 30

trials were performed per rotor type per wind speed, it can be determined that the data

comes from a normally distributed sampling distribution. In addition, the data must be

sourced through the use of two simple random samples from two independent
 Pierce - Shereda 34

populations. The order of the trials were selected by assigning each trial type a number

from 1-120 and randomly generating a trial order, ensuring that simple random samples

were used. In addition, the two independent populations were the Darrieus and Savonius

rotors which did not influence the outcome of one another as the blades were switched

out on the shaft according to the trial type. A final assumption that must be met is that the

sample from a given population must not exceed one-tenth of the size of the overall

population (N > 10n where “n” is the sample size and “N” is the size of the total

population). In the case of both the Savonius turbine population and the Darrieus turbine

population, the overall population of voltage generated by these wind turbine types is far

greater than the sample size of 30 multiplied by 10, or 300. Since the data was randomly

generated using a simple random sample system, sourced from two independent

populations, both samples came from normally distributed populations by the Central

Limit Theorem, and the populations of both samples are larger than 10 times the sample

sizes, two-sample ​t​ tests are appropriate to analyze the data.

Table 6
Savonius High Versus Darrieus High Two-Sample ​t​ Test
H​0 μ​sh​ = μ​dh xsh 0.477

H​a μ​sh​ < μ​dh xdh 0.480

P-Value 0.461 σ sh 0.098

DF 29 σ dh 0.173

The table above shows the null hypothesis, H​0​, the alternative hypothesis, H​a​, and

the p-value found when completing a two-sample ​t​ test comparing the Savonius and

Darrieus rotor types at a high wind speed (see Appendix D for an explanation of how to
 Pierce - Shereda 35

run the test). The subscripts “sh” and “dh” represent the Savonius turbine and Darrieus

turbine at high speeds respectively. Degrees of freedom, or DF, were found by

subtracting 1 from the sample size of 30. The null hypothesis states that the sample

means for both rotor types are equal. The alternative hypothesis states that the sample

mean for the Savonius population is less than the sample mean for the Darrieus

population based on the experimental hypothesis and the fact that the mean for the

Darrieus turbine at high speed was noticeably higher than the mean for the Savonius

turbine at high speed, shown in Figure 14. The null hypothesis is not rejected because the

p-value of 0.461 is greater than the alpha level of 0.05. This shows that the Darrieus high

voltage population is not significantly greater than the Savonius high voltage population.

Figure 15. Savonius Versus Darrieus at a High Wind Speed ​t​ Distribution

In Figure 15, the shaded portion under the ​t d​ istribution curve above represents

the p-value. This area represents the probability of observing a difference in means equal

to or greater than the means of the Savonius and Darrieus data samples, assuming the null
 Pierce - Shereda 36

hypothesis is true. The p-value is too great to disprove the null hypothesis, providing the

basis for the conclusion that there is no significant difference between the populations.

Table 7
Savonius Low Versus Darrieus Low Two-Sample ​t​ Test
H​0 μ​sl​ = μ​dl xsl 0.410

H​a μ​sl​ > μ​dl xdl 0.355

P-Value 0.108 σ sl 0.130

DF 29 σ dl 0.201

Table 2 displays the results of a ​t ​test comparing the mean values of the Savonius

and Darrieus low data samples (see Appendix D for sample calculation). The subscripts

“sl” and “dl” represent Savonius at low speed and Darrieus at low speed respectively. As

noted in Figure 14, the sample mean value for the Savonius turbine at low speed is

greater than the sample mean of the Darrieus turbine at low speed. Because of this, the

alternative hypothesis used in the statistical test is used to determine if the Savonius data

is significantly greater than the Darrieus. The p-value 0.108 is greater than the alpha level

0.05, so the null hypothesis is not rejected. There is no significant difference in the

Savonius and Darrieus low speed voltage populations.

 Pierce - Shereda 37

Figure 16. Savonius Versus Darrieus at a Low Wind Speed ​t​ Distribution

The shaded area shown above represents the probability of getting the difference

in means between the Savonius and Darrieus low samples from this ​t​ test by chance alone

if the null hypothesis is true. The region represents the p-value, 0.1081. The chance is

large enough to fail to reject the null hypothesis.

The results from both the visual analysis and the two sample ​t​ tests offer insight

on the efficiency of both turbines at the high and low wind speeds. For instance, although

the two-sample ​t​ tests did not confirm any statistical significance, the box plots indicate

that the Darrieus turbine performed more efficiently at a high wind speed because 50% of

the data from the Darrieus high trials lie above 75% of the data of the Savonius turbine at

high speed. At low speeds, 75% of the Savonius data lies above 50% of the Darrieus low

box plot, supporting the hypothesis that the Savonius rotor was more efficient than the

Darrieus rotor at low wind speeds.

 Pierce - Shereda 38

Conclusion

The experiment is intended to determine the effectiveness of Savonius and

Darrieus type wind turbines by comparing the average voltages generated by the turbines

over a 15 seconds time interval at both low and high wind speeds. Descriptive statistics

and two-sample ​t​ tests were used to analyze the significance of the data collected.

The hypothesis, which stated that the Darrieus turbine would produce a higher

average voltage at high wind speed and the Savonius turbine will produce a higher

average voltage at a low speed, was rejected. The highest mean was the Darrieus high

mean at 0.480 and the lowest mean was the Darrieus low mean at 0.355. Both the

Savonius means fell within the middle at 0.410 for low speed and 0.477 for high speed.

The box plots indicate that the Darrieus turbine performed more efficiently at a high wind

speed because 50% of the data from the Darrieus high trials lie above 75% of the data of

the Savonius turbine at high speed. At low speeds, 75% of the Savonius data lies above

50% of the Darrieus low box plot. This supports the hypothesis that the Savonius rotor

was more efficient than the Darrieus rotor at low wind speeds and the Darrieus rotor was

more efficient at high speeds than the Savonius blade design. Although the box plots may

have supported the hypothesis, the two-sample ​t​ tests performed to determine

significance were inconclusive of any significant differences in the means for each

turbine at the two wind speeds tested. The two-sample ​t​ test for the two turbines at high

wind speed had an alternative hypothesis that the average voltages of the Darrieus

turbines would be greater than the average voltages for the Savonius turbines which was

rejected because the p-value was much larger than the alpha level 0.05 at 0.4608. The
 Pierce - Shereda 39

second two sample ​t​ test carried out tested an alternative hypothesis that the mean voltage

value for the Savonius turbine at a low speed was greater than the mean voltage value for

the Darrieus turbine at a low speed. The results were also inconclusive of any

significance because the p-value was 0.1081, meaning overall, the hypothesis must be

rejected. Although the statistical analysis cannot be used to determine significance, many

instances of observations imply that although the data did not statistically show that the

Darrieus turbine generated a higher voltage at the high wind speed, nor did it conclude

that the Savonius turbine generated a higher voltage at a low wind speed. The Darrieus

turbine seemed to be able to reach a higher efficiency than the Savonius type turbine at a

high wind speed and vice versa at the low wind speed. This indicates that the Darrieus

design would be better suited for implementation in an urban setting (such as on top of

corporate buildings) with higher wind speeds and the Savonius turbine in an urban setting

with lower wind speeds, yet limitations in the experimental design may have prevented

the data from reflecting this.

Revisiting the aerodynamics of both turbine designs, Savonius type turbines are

rotated by drag forces caused by the wind interacting with the “S”- shaped blades. The

wind is captured in the concave blade, and the force of the wind pushing into the blade

causes the turbine to rotate. This generates a high amount of torque, or rotational force,

and gives the Savonius rotor the ability to self-start. When the turbine reaches higher

speeds, the opposing drag force on the convex blade has a greater negative effect on the

torque of the turbine, meaning that Savonius rotors are generally more efficient at lower

wind speeds (“Lift and Drag”). This supports the results that the mean value for the
 Pierce - Shereda 40

Savonius turbine at low speed was greater than the Darrieus design at low wind speed.

Darrieus type turbines, in contrast, are rotated by lift forces. The specific airfoil shape of

the blade creates a difference in air pressure on either side of the blade. The higher

pressure on one side forces the blade to spin. Darrieus turbines are designed for higher

wind speeds, but cannot self-start (Ebrahimpour).

Previous research suggests that the Darrieus turbine should have performed more

effectively in comparison to the Savonius turbine even though the statistical tests

performed indicated there were no significant differences in the mean voltages for each

turbine at the two wind speeds tested. This was likely due to issues with the design of the

turbines and shaft structure. As it was discussed by Sahim and colleagues, “...Darrieus

wind turbines are aerodynamically lifting based turbines having higher cut in speed with

higher coefficients of performance. Thus, it can rotate faster than the wind velocity.”

Because the Darrieus turbine has a higher speed when it begins to turn, it is able to rotate

faster than the velocity of the wind and therefore reach higher voltage outputs (Sahim).

Moreover, a study conducted by Bashar concluded that in reference to the Darrieus

turbine compared to other turbine types like Savonius, “...These types of turbines have

highest values of efficiency among VAWTs and the tip speed ratio can be much higher

resulting in a much higher rpm” (Bashar). A higher amount of revolutions per minute, or

rpm, indicates a higher voltage generated because the motor, or computer fan in this case,

will be spinning at a faster rate. This information can help those in the scientific

community, such as environmental engineers, who are implementing vertical axis wind
 Pierce - Shereda 41

turbines into real-world scenarios to choose a more effective VAWT designs like the

Darrieus turbine to reach higher efficiencies.

For the Darrieus H-rotor type turbine used in this experiment, many of the

observations noted a large amount of shaft vibration prior to the turbine hitting the “speed

ramp”, a recurring phenomenon where the rotation quickly spiked in speed. If the shaft

experienced resistance from wobbling, then the rate at which it rotated would be lower

than if the shaft was completely straight to start, causing a lower voltage output on

average. The Savonius turbines were observed to have some shaft wobble, but overall

this did not occur as often as with the Darrieus design. Furthermore, the shaft wobble

with the Savonius rotor seemed to decrease as the turbine increased in speed, lessening

the overall effect on the voltage reading. This leads to the conclusion that the Darrieus

results may have been significantly affected by the unsteady shaft.

Another reason the Darrieus turbines may not have had a significantly greater

voltage average is because of the 15 second time interval used. The interval was

determined because when the Darrieus turbine hit a speed ramp within the first couple of

trials run, the researchers observed the blades bowing outward and determined it was

unsafe for the turbine to let it run for longer as it may have weakened or broken the

blades. However, the time at which the Darrieus turbine hit the speed ramp at high wind

speed was variable between trials, and many times the trial had to be stopped while the

turbine was still gaining speed. On the other hand, the Savonius turbines almost always

hit a threshold where the voltage would level off before the time interval had run out.
 Pierce - Shereda 42

Because of this, the data recorded may not have accurately represented the maximum

voltage the Darrieus turbine could have achieved in the wind speeds tested.

Potential improvements to the design include creating thicker Darrieus airfoils so

as to catch more air to allow the experiment to be run with lower wind speeds in the wind

tunnel without the use of a leaf blower. Future research could be to change the radius of

the turbines or testing different thicknesses of the Darrieus airfoil to see how the voltage

output is affected. In the future, one way to extend the research would be to focus on the

efficiency of a combined Savonius and Darrieus rotor that utilizes the self-starting

qualities of the Savonius turbine and the airfoil shape of the Darrieus turbine.

Additionally, similar research could be performed at a larger scale in a residential setting

with natural wind speeds to determine a real world application for the turbines.

Knowledge of how different types of turbine designs interact with wind to

generate energy allows more effective measures to be taken to combat climate change.

Additionally, implementing turbines such as VAWTs in areas other than wind farms

encourages widespread use of alternative energy sources that are necessary for preventing

future damage to the planet.

 Pierce - Shereda 43

Acknowledgements

The researchers would like to acknowledge Nolan VanWormer and Ryan

Reichenbach for their assistance with the design and CAD of the experiment as well as

Nate Pedder for the information he provided about the real world use of vertical axis

wind turbines. Additionally, the researchers acknowledge Mr. McMillan, Mr. May, Mrs.

Tallman, and Mr. Acre for their help in providing feedback to ensure the science, math,

and formatting were accurate throughout the paper.

 Pierce - Shereda 44

Appendix A: Base and Turbine CAD in Solidworks

Figure 17. Top Base

The image above shows the Solidworks design for the top of the base structure.

The ½ inch bearing that holds the shaft is placed into the cutout that matches the size of

the bearings used. The experiment was originally intended to utilize a motor that would

fit in the circle of diameter 0.05 m, but the design was switched to instead utilize a

computer fan.
 Pierce - Shereda 45

Figure 18. Bottom Base

Figure 18 depicts the bottom of the base structure which includes measurements

identical to those in Figure 17 with the addition of a stand and additional cutouts that

were intended for attaching the motor (no longer necessary).

Figure 19. Savonius Middle Plate

The middle plate for the Savonius turbine pictured above has cutouts to hold the

lexan and a hex cutout for the shaft in the center. On one end, the cutouts are rotated 90

degrees relative to the cutouts on the other end so the blades will face in perpendicular
 Pierce - Shereda 46

directions on each stage. The end plates are designed identical to the middle plate with

cutouts only on one side that align with the direction on either the top or bottom of the

middle plate.

Figure 20. Darrieus End Plate

The end plate for the Darrieus turbine is pictured in the diagram above. The peg

cutouts to the center were positioned along a circle of diameter 0.1 m similar to the size

of the Savonius end plates in Figure 19.

 Pierce - Shereda 47

Figure 21. Darrieus End Blade

Two of the Darrieus end blade pieces pictured in Figure 21 make up each of the

three Darrieus blades constructed. These end pieces included circular cutouts identical to

those in Figure 22 for pins to be glued in to attach them to another end piece. The end

pieces also had rectangular pegs to attach to the Darrieus end plates. The airfoil shape

was created using measurements sourced from research conducted by Siddiqui and scaled

down to match the size ratio of the rest of the blade.

Figure 22. Darrieus Attachment Holes

On one end of each Darrieus blade half piece, three holes with an inner diameter

of 0.0032 m are placed with the intention of being used to place pins in to hold the blades

together. These are cutouts for one inch brass pins to be inserted to hold the two end

pieces of the blades together.

 Pierce - Shereda 48

Appendix B: Randomization Procedure

Table 8
Randomization
Rotor Type Trial Number
SH 1-30
SL 31-60
DH 61-90
DL 91-120

Table 8 depicts the number assignments for each trial type. “SH” represents

Savonius high, “SL” represents Savonius low, “DH” represents Darrieus high, and “DL”

represents Darrieus low. Numbers 1-120 were then randomized without repeats to get the

order to conduct trials. This order is shown in Table 5 of the Data and Observations

section.
 Pierce - Shereda 49

Appendix C: Professional Contact Assistance

Name: Nate Pedder

Title: Project Developer

Organization: Apex Clean Energy Inc.

Phone: ​(434) 220-7595

Email: natepedder@gmail.com

Figure 23. Professional Contact Email

In the figure above, the email conversation from September 15 with wind energy

project developer and former MMSTC student Nate Pedder is shared. Although Mr.

Pedder does not focus on vertical axis wind turbines in his field, the researchers learned

that horizontal axis wind turbines, or HAWTs, are typically used in wind farms for utility

scale energy generation whereas VAWTs are typically implemented into residential or

urban settings.
 Pierce - Shereda 50

Name: Nolan VanWormer

Title: Systems Engineer

Organization: McNaughton McKay Electric Company

Phone: (989) 671-7727

Email: nolan.vanwormer@gmail.com

On October 3​rd​, 2019, the researchers sat down with Mr. VanWormer to complete

the computer aided design of the turbines in SolidWorks. Mr. VanWormer offered further

guidance on the research project on October 7​th​, when he guided the researchers in the

construction process by securing materials for the build process and offering guidance on

which steps to complete to physically construct the CAD assembly. The researchers were

also in contact with Mr. VanWormer throughout the week of October 21​st​ during when

the majority of the construction occurred with design questions about how to make the

wind turbines successfully rotate in the wind tunnel so data could be collected.

Name: Ryan Reichenbach

Title: Application Engineer

Organization: Valvetrain Systems

Phone: (586) 291-3952

Email: rmfreichenbach@gmail.com

Mr. Reichenbach assisted the researchers in troubleshooting the early stages of the

CAD for the Darrieus turbine on October 3​rd​, 2019. Mr. Reichenbach also offered

suggestions to ensure the build process would run smoothly.

 Pierce - Shereda 51

Appendix D: Two-Sample ​t ​Test Process and Sample Calculations

To determine if there exists any significant difference between the sample means

of the Savonius and Darrieus turbines at high wind speed and at low wind speed, two

separate two-sample ​t​ tests must be performed. The formula used to calculate the ​t

statistic for these tests is shown below.

x1 −x2
t​ =

√
s 1 2 s2 2
n1 + n2

The equation above solves for a ​t​ statistic in terms of the means from both

populations (“ x1 ” and “ x2 ”), their sample standard deviations (“s​1​” and “s​2​”), and their

respective sample sizes (“ n1 ” and “ n2 ”). For the two-sample​ t​ tests carried out in this

experiment, x1 represented the mean of the Savonius sample and x2 represented the mean

of the Darrieus sample. Similarly, s​1​ was the sample standard deviation of the Savonius

turbine voltages and s​2​ was the sample standard deviation for the Darrieus turbine

voltages. Finally, n​1​ represented the sample size for the Savonius sample and n​2

represented the sample size for the Darrieus sample both of which were 30.
 Pierce - Shereda 52

x1 −x2
t​ =

√
s1 2 s2 2
n1 + n2

0.476700−0.480300
t​ =
0.0979612 + 0.1734252
√ 30 30

t​ = -0.0990
Figure 24. ​t​ Statistic Calculation for High Wind Speed

Figure 24 above shows the calculation to determine the ​t​ statistic to compare the

Savonius and Darrieus turbine voltage sample means at high wind speed. The sample

means, sample standard deviations, and sample sizes for the Savonius ( x1 , s​1​, and n​1

respectively) and Darrieus ( x2 , s​2​, and n​2​ respectively) turbines are entered into the ​t

statistic equation, producing a ​t​ statistic of 1.258. Once the ​t​ statistic has been calculated,

a table of ​t​ distribution values must be utilized to determine the p-value for the test.

Looking a ​t​ distribution table, the corresponding p-value for a ​t​ statistic of -0.0990 with

degrees of freedom of n (the sample size) - 1, or 29, is greater than 0.25. An exact

calculation of the p-value using a TI-Nspire calculator produces a p-value of 0.461.

 Pierce - Shereda 53

x1 −x2
t​ =

√
s1 2 s2 2
n1 + n2

0.410033−0.355267
t​ =
0.1303152 + 0.2008742
√ 30 30

t​ = 1.2528
Figure 25. ​t​ Statistic Calculation for Low Wind Speed

The sample calculation above shows the steps to calculate the ​t​ statistic using the

formula previously explained for the data collected for low wind speed. The same

variable assignments for Savonius and Darrieus type rotors were used as in the

description of Figure 24, however the data used was only the trials held at low speed. A

t​ statistic of 1.2528 is produced using the formula, and using a ​t​ distribution table, the

p-value can be found to be between 0.10 and 0.15. An exact calculation of the p-value

using a TI-Nspire calculator can be found to equal 0.108.

 Pierce - Shereda 54

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