This reduces the target individual's dependence on external energy resources and opens up a whole new market in alternative energy technology. VAWTs target individual homes, farms, or small residential areas as a way of providing local and personal wind energy. Small companies all over the world have been marketing these new devices such as Helix Wind, Urban Green Energy, and Windspire.
Recently, VAWTs have been gaining popularity due to interest in personal green energy solutions.
There is also a new type of VAWT emerging in the wind power industry which is a mixture between the Darrieus and Savonius designs. The Darrieus wind turbine is a VAWT that rotates around a central axis due to the lift produced by the rotating airfoils, whereas a Savonius rotor rotates due to the drag created by its blades. VAWTs consist of two major types, the Darrieus rotor and Savonius rotor. This type of wind turbine rotates about an axis that is perpendicular to the oncoming flow, hence, it can take wind from any direction. The second major type of wind turbine is the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). These wind turbines have been the main subject of wind turbine research for decades, mainly because they share common operation and dynamics with rotary aircraft. HAWTs sit atop a large tower and have a set of blades that rotate about an axis parallel to the flow direction. This type of wind turbine is the most common and can often be seen littered across the landscape in areas of relatively level terrain with predictable year round wind conditions. The first type is the horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT). Two major types of wind turbines exist based on their blade configuration and operation. Depending on whether the flow is parallel to the axis of rotation (axial flow) or perpendicular (radial flow) determines the classification of the wind turbine. The cornerstone of this new technology is the wind turbine.Ī wind turbine is a type of turbomachine that transfers fluid energy to mechanical energy through the use of blades and a shaft and converts that form of energy to electricity through the use of a generator. A new market in wind energy technology has emerged that has the means of efficiently transforming the energy available in the wind to a usable form of energy, such as electricity. Alternative EnergyĪs the world continues to use up nonrenewable energy resources, wind energy will continue to gain popularity. Optimized blade design that maximizes the efficiency of the wind With a parallel differential evolution algorithm used to obtain an The flexibility and automation of the modularĭesign and simulation system allows for it to easily be coupled With viscous, unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Geometry generation and automated hybrid mesh generation tools Theĭesign system required to maximize torque incorporates rapid Requiring the development of an iterative design system. The tip speed ratio of the wind turbine, there exists an airfoilĬross-section and solidity for which the torque can be maximized, Such as tip speed ratio, solidity, and blade profile.
The torque while enforcing typical wind turbine design constraints The purpose of this study is to introduce and demonstrate a fullyĪutomated process for optimizing the airfoil cross-section of a