Optimization of Wind Turbine Blades

The wind turbine design is the process of defining the form and specifications of a wind turbine to extract energy from the wind. A wind turbine installation consists of the necessary systems needed to capture the wind's energy, point the turbine into the wind, convert mechanical rotation into electrical power, and other systems to start, stop, and control the turbine. Windmill Kites is one of the best examples of what design improvement can do.


In 1919 the physicist Albert Betz showed that for a hypothetical ideal wind-energy extraction machine, the fundamental laws of conservation of mass and energy allowed no more than 16/27 (59.3%) of the kinetic energy of the wind to be captured. According to Betz's law, no turbine can capture more than 59.3 percent of the kinetic energy in wind. The ideal or maximum theoretical efficiency n max (also called power coefficient) of a wind turbine is the ratio of maximum power obtained from the wind to the total power available in the wind. The factor 0.593 is known as Betz's coefficient. It is the maximum fraction of the power in a wind stream that can be extracted.

power coefficient = Cp =( power output from wind machine) / (power available in wind )

Design is vital for any windmill to function well and efficiently. If we can improve its design, the power generated by windmill would increase significantly.

This project idea is for students interested in CAD. They should try to design the most optimum wind turbine blades. In the video given below, I have shown you one such design.

Related Video:


Related PDF:
Rochester Institute

Projects:
Windmill Power Generation System