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A robust biomimetic blade design for micro wind turbines

Author

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  • Ikeda, Teruaki
  • Tanaka, Hiroto
  • Yoshimura, Ryosuke
  • Noda, Ryusuke
  • Fujii, Takeo
  • Liu, Hao

Abstract

Inspired by bird wings that enable robust aerodynamic force production and stable flight, we propose a biomimetic blade design for small wind turbines that is capable of achieving a high integral power coefficient, Cp, over a broad range of tip-speed ratios, λ, and hence enhances robustness in aerodynamic performance. We first developed a basic blade design with bird-inspired flexed wing morphology and investigated its aerodynamic characteristics with computational fluid dynamics. Our results demonstrated that the swept-forward shaped portion proximal to wing root augmented Cp at smaller λ, whereas the distal swept-backward shaped portion improved Cp at larger λ. We further conducted a morphology optimization and developed an optimized flexion blade that is capable of achieving a remarkably improved Cp over a broad range of λ. To evaluate the aerodynamic robustness under variable tip-speed ratios in an integral way, we here propose a new Robustness Index (Ri) and find that the optimized-flexion blade outperforms a conventional blade based on Blade Element Momentum Theory by 8.1%, indicating marked robustness in power output. Our results indicate that of great potential for wind turbines robustness-oriented biomimetic blade design can be a practical and effective methodology in wind-based sustainable energy harvesting.

Suggested Citation

  • Ikeda, Teruaki & Tanaka, Hiroto & Yoshimura, Ryosuke & Noda, Ryusuke & Fujii, Takeo & Liu, Hao, 2018. "A robust biomimetic blade design for micro wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 155-165.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:125:y:2018:i:c:p:155-165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.02.093
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Singh, Ronit K. & Ahmed, M. Rafiuddin, 2013. "Blade design and performance testing of a small wind turbine rotor for low wind speed applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 812-819.
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    Cited by:

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    6. Carré, Aurélien & Gasnier, Pierre & Roux, Émile & Tabourot, Laurent, 2022. "Extending the operating limits and performances of centimetre-scale wind turbines through biomimicry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).

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