Structural Analysis of Biologically Inspired Small Wind Turbine Blades

Renewable energy resources are becoming more important to meet growing energy demands while reducing pollutants in the environment. In the current market, wind turbines are primarily restricted to rural use due to the large size, noise creation, and physical appearance. However, wind turbines possess the ability to run at any time of the day. Horizontal axis wind turbines remain the most widely used, but there is significant room for improvement in vertical axis wind turbines.

While vertical axis wind turbines are not reaching the same level of efficiency of horizontal axis wind turbines, there are significant benefits to researching improvements. One of the main benefits is to make use of vertical axis wind turbines in urban settings. In order to improve the efficiency of the vertical axis wind turbine, a biological approach was taken to design blades that mimic the shape of maple seeds and triplaris samara seeds. This approach was taken because due to its geometrical properties, typically extra lift is generated.

The results obtained through FEA simulations were consistent with the expected results for the application that was considered. The results obtained provide valuable insight for engineers to iterate and design optimum wind turbine blades taking advantage of biological phenomena applied to conventional airfoils.

The purpose of this paper is to provide structural analysis details into the design of a vertical axis wind turbine blades that mimic the geometry of maple and triplaris samaras seeds.