Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
This project was done with a team of three students for mechanical engineering lab course MEAM 347. Our team’s task was to create a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) able to generate a minimum of 4 Watts while maintaining a comparatively light weight. We first completed aerodynamic analyses of wind turbines with different airfoils, particularly Darrius, Savonius, and Lenz models. We characterized the motor, accounted for external resistance, optimized our system’s gear ratio, and constructed our turbine.
The project consisted of three parts: initial design, scale-model wind tunnel testing, and final large-scale testing. We settled on a Lenz design as its utilization of both lift and drag to turn made it efficient yet simple to build. We tested several different types of scale models in a wind tunnel to arrive at the optimal turbine shape, external resistance, and gear ratio. The video linked below shows the 0º triple-blade Lenz in the wind tunnel, resulting in a turbine speed of 2100 RPM.
We decided to build a triple Lenz with a 9º angle of attack as our full-scale turbine. We scaled the turbine to be as large as possible while still ensuring it fit through a standard door (36”) since power output increased directly with area.
