MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022

Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

VAWT Final Report

December 16th, 2022

Table of Contents

1 - Small Scale VAWT 2

1.1 Design / Construction 2

2 - Characterization 3
2.1 Test matrix 3
2.2 Adjusting for motor losses 3
2.3 Small-Scale Results 4

3 - Scaling Up 5
3.1 Dimensionless Numbers 5
3.2 Motor Characterization 6
3.3 Full Scale Performance 7
3.4 Construction 7

4 - Final Demonstration 8
4.1 Performance 8
4.2 Error 8

5 - Appendix 9
A1.1 - Small Scale VAWT 9
 MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022
Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

1 - Small Scale VAWT

1.1 Design / Construction

Theoretically two blade Darrieus is the most efficient design, but
they need to be started since they don’t make power at low speed
ratios and we didn’t ever get fast enough to use the maximum
efficiency. Savonius rotors (drag based turbines) have much lower
peak efficiency of 15% but will self start at low speed ratios.

We decided to use a two blade Darrieus VAWT with the hopes that
even if we didn’t reach the max efficiency of 40% we could still
achieve something higher than the 15% efficiency ceiling that
comes with the Savonius rotors.

Fig (1) - 0015 Cl vs alpha plot.

The small scale VAWT was

constructed by using 2 laser cut
acrylic end plates with various
mounting locations. After some
testing of the diameter at which the
airfoils should be attached, the
outermost diameter demonstrated the
highest efficiency. The attached
airfoils were 3D printed with holes
intended for threaded heat inserts.

Fig (2) - Cp vs. TSR of various turbine types

The airfoil shape needed to be symmetric - a requirement of Darrieus VAWTs, and also needed to have
relatively high coefficients of lift at high angle of attack (positive and negative). One airfoil that met these
requirements was the NACA 0015 and was used in our design. You can see in Figure 1 that the coefficient
of lift is symmetric with both positive and negative angles of attack. The airfoil also doesn’t stall until
high alphas, ~10 degrees. This is important because these airfoils will be sweeping across a full 360
degrees and they need to spend as little time as possible in a stall.
 MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022
Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

2 - Characterization

2.1 Test matrix

To characterize the small scale VAWT we collected data from a range of incoming wind speeds. The
lower limit of wind speed was the slowest incoming airspeed that kept the wind turbine spinning. We ran
tests at 9,10,11, and 12 m/s. At each wind velocity we gathered data for the rotational speed and voltage
drop across a variety of resistances linked to the inline motor.

2.2 Adjusting for motor losses

The data we collected can be used to find a value for the electrical power created.
2
𝑉
𝑃 = 𝑅
(1)
However, this electrical power is not representative of the power that our VAWT was able to create
because equation (1) lumps together the power of the VAWT with all of the power losses in the motor. We
need to isolate the VAWT power (mechanical) from the electrical power that we can measure without
tests.
To do this we use the motor characteristics given by the motor datasheet and equation (2) to find the
mechanical torque produced by the VAWT
τ = 𝐾𝑡(𝑖 − 𝑖0) - mechanical torque (2)
Now that we have the mechanical torque and omega we can find the mechanical power produced by the
VAWT. This can be used to calculate Power coefficients and scale the wind turbine up.
𝑃𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ = τ𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎω (3)
 MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022
Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

2.3 Small-Scale Results

Figure 3: Torque vs Omega

We plotted the torque as a function of the rotational velocity to obtain the graph above. This graph will
serve as a checking point for our large scale VAWT calculations.

Figure 4: Cp vs TSR
The graph of coefficient of power as a function of tip speed ratio has an increasing curve, however with a
few more data points it would look much closer to the expected quadratic shape.
 MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022
Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

3 - Scaling Up

3.1 Dimensionless Numbers

After determining the power output of the small VAWT, our next step was to use the dimensionless
variables (Reynolds number, tip speed ratio, and coefficient of power) to scale up the VAWT. Assuming a
running speed of about V2 = 10 mph or 4.47 m/s, we then utilized a guess-and-check system – we guessed
a reasonable scaling factor which yielded the large VAWT radius R2 and effective area A2. Our goal was to
obtain a power output of at least 4 W using the smallest possible scaling factor to minimize size and
material.

Tip Speed Ratio - λ

λ1 = λ2
ω1𝑅1 Ω𝑅2
𝑉1
= 𝑉2
ω1𝑅1𝑉2
Ω= 𝑉1𝑅2
λ1𝑉2
Ω= 𝑅2
(1)
Using our assumed values for V2 and R2, we are able to find the expected rotational speed of the large
VAWT Ω using equation (1).

Coefficient of Power - 𝐶𝑝
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝐶𝑝 = 𝑃𝑖𝑛

1 3
𝑃𝑖𝑛 = 2
ρ𝐴2𝑉2
1 3
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 2
𝐶𝑝ρ𝐴2𝑉2 (2)
Next, we can apply A 2 to equation (2) to obtain our expected power output of our large scale VAWT.

Reynolds Number - Re
In our case, we used TSR and the coefficient of power to identify our large scale rotation speed and power
output. We then used Reynolds number to confirm that the scaling would be appropriate and have a
similar flow profile. The figure below shows the drag coefficient as a function of Reynolds number. The
4 5
small scale Re was about 5. 20 × 10 , while the large scale Re was about 1. 05 × 10 . If we determine
the location of these values on the graph, it is clear that these values lie in the relatively flat portion of the
graph, indicating no significant change in the drag coefficient for the large VAWT, and therefore the
power output should remain as expected.
 MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022
Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

Figure 5: Cd vs Re

3.2 Motor Characterization

Just as we had to adjust the power in the small-scale tests to account for the losses in the motor, we have
to do the same for the large scale motor. We don't have the datasheet for the large scale motor, so we had
to characterize the motor. To find 𝐾𝑡 and 𝑖0, we plotted the output torque of the motor and the current
supplied. The slope of the line seen in fig(6) gives us a value for 𝐾𝑡 and 𝑖0 can be approximated by the
𝑁.𝑚
y-intercept of this graph. Our data shows that 𝑖0 ≈ 0 and 𝐾𝑡 = 0. 32 [ 𝐴
].

Figure 6: Kt of the large VAWT motor

 MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022
Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

3.3 Full Scale Performance

After finding the correct scaling factor that allowed us to produce 4W (plus 1.5W for margin) we were
able to find our expected torque, omega, and large scale diameter, shown in table 1:

Table 1: Expected results of full scale VAWT

Large Scale Large Scale 𝛕

Diameter [m] Large Scale 𝛚 [rad/s] [Nm] Pout [W]

0.72 13.20 0.49 6.51

In the large scale VAWT we no longer had a direct drive connection to the motor like we did in the wind
tunnel. This means we have to transmit that mechanical power to the vawt through gears.
Gears, while able to change torque and speed ratios are unable to change the actual power output of the
VAWT. Because of this our gearing will start as 1:1, then, if something unexpected happens on test day
and our VAWT doesn’t have enough torque to spin the motor we can increase that gear ratio to spin the
motor slightly slower but with more torque.

3.4 Construction
The large scale VAWT was constructed from 2 arms connected to
the main shaft via shaft collars. The arms are made from ¼” laser
cut MDF slotted together in an I-beam type shape. This makes the
arms stiff enough to hold the weight of the airfoils.
The airfoils have an MDF skeleton which is wrapped with foam
core and held together with hot glue. The leading edge was
wrapped with a smooth plastic. All airfoil construction was done
with the goal of keeping the airfoil as smooth and rigid as
possible to get the maximum lift and transmit that lift as
efficiently as possible to the motor.

Figure 7 (above): CAD of full scale Vawt

Figure 8 (left): Close up of VAWT arm
 MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022
Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

4 - Final Demonstration

4.1 Performance
On the day of the demonstration, we started off by using a 1:1 gear ratio, as our calculations had already
accounted for losses in the expected power output. We also applied a 25 Ω resistance. Unfortunately, the
data was erased after the run, so no quantitative measure of our power was received. However, after the
initial trial, we know that our team did generate over 4 W of power. Our VAWT Demo video can be
accessed here: https://youtube.com/shorts/e4t8LzQuugo.

Figure 9: Full scale VAWT setup

4.2 Error
With Darrius turbine designs the performance of the turbine is dependent on lift of the wing. Lift
performance is highly sensitive to the shape and surface roughness of the leading edge of the aerofoil. In
our full scale turbine fabrication it was difficult to achieve the exact NACA aerofoil profile on the leading
edge with the plastic wrap and foam board construction materials available. The plastic wrap was too
flimsy to hold the leading edge shape across our support ribs, while the foam board was too rigid to form
smooth curves. This is in contrast to the small scale model where 3d printing allowed precise
manufacturing of the NACA 0015 profile and exceptional turbine performance. Given the manufacturing
constraints of the project and low airspeeds, a drag based design likely would have been better suited.
 MEAM 3470 | Fall 2022
Charlie Bourget, Shalika Neelaveni, and Justin Duhamel

5 - Appendix

A1.1 - Small Scale VAWT