Design and Simulation of Small Wind Turbine Blades in Q-Blade

  Veeksha Rao Ponakala,  Dr G Anil Kumar

Electrical energy demand has been continuously increasing. Power generation using wind turbines is becoming viable solution as there is demand for cleaner energy sources. Wind power generators are usually located away from human dwellings for higher power generation. In any other case, turbines placed at lower altitudes, are subjected to low wind speeds and non optimal wind flow conditions. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are more efficient than the horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) for low wind speed applications because of their ability to capture wind flowing from any direction. Therefore, VAWT systems are more suitable for residential and urban applications as they are universally adaptable. Major limitation observed in VAWT is high drag and turbulent force produced by the blade. This paper presents the VAWT rotor blade design to overcome the limitations. By considering the parameters required for design of blade geometry, National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics (NACA) series 0016- 64 can be utilised for optimum aerodynamic performance. NACA 0018 airfoil is selected and analysed within the required range of Reynolds numbers and wind speeds in Q-Blade software. With the proper airfoil design optimal for low wind speed conditions, the turbine efficiency can be increased in addition to maximization of the power produced.

Keywords- VAWT, Rotor Blades, Airfoil, Lift Force, Drag Force, Q-Blade

Unique Identification Number - IJEDR1704176
Page Number(s) - 1095-1103
Pubished in - Volume 5 | Issue 4 | December 2017
DOI (Digital Object Identifier) -   
Publisher - IJEDR (ISSN - 2321-9939)

  Veeksha Rao Ponakala,  Dr G Anil Kumar,   "Design and Simulation of Small Wind Turbine Blades in Q-Blade", International Journal of Engineering Development and Research (IJEDR), ISSN:2321-9939, Volume.5, Issue 4, pp.1095-1103, December 2017, Available at :http://www.ijedr.org/papers/IJEDR1704176.pdf