General Introduction of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
General Introduction on Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Sarvesh Pandey [024293-18]
August 2020
General Introduction on Vertical Axis Wind Turbine(VAWT)
Wind Turbine is a device that converts wind kinetic energy into electrical energy.
They are manufactured in wide range of vertical and horizontal axis. Wind is
renewable and clean source of energy and wind turbine is space efficient. Horizontal
axis wind turbine are traditional and are rarely used nowadays. However, Vertical axis
wind turbines are widely used.
Types of Wind Turbines:
1. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine.
2. Vertical Axis Wind Turbine.
A short introduction on them is given below:

 Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine: HAWTs have their shafts mounted horizontally
parallel to the ground. Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT) have the main
rotor shaft and electrical generator at the top of a tower, and may be pointed into
or out of the wind.
 Vertical Axis Wind Turbine: VWATs are wind turbines whose rotors rotate
around a vertical shaft with vertically oriented blades. A vertical axis wind
turbine has its axis perpendicular to the wind streamlines and vertical to the
ground. There are two types of VAWT. They are:
1. Drag-based Savonius type.
2. Lift-based Darrieus type.
Salient Features of VAWT:

 With the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, the rotor shaft is arranged in a vertical
pattern.
 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines are the oldest forms of Wind turbines that is being
practised in many countries all over the world.
 The position of the blades is different in the VAWT. On this model, the base of
the tower holds the generator, and the blades then wrap themselves around the
shaft.
 The VAWT are easier and more affordable to maintain than horizontal units.
Components of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine:

1. Blades
2. Shaft
3. Generator
4. Impeller
5. Link Rod
6. Tower
7. Hub
8. Gear Box
1
Fig: Components of VAWT
The components are described in brief:

1) Blades: Blades are physical structures, which are aerodynamically optimized to
help capture the maximum power from the wind in normal operation. They are
the crucial part of the Wind Turbine. They are mainly made up of Aluminum,
Fibber Glass or Carbon Fibber. The design of individual blades affect the overall
design of the rotor. There are two types of blades used in VWAT. They are:
 Drag force type blades
 Lift force type blades
.
2) Shaft: The shaft is the part that gets turned by the turbine blades Shaft is divided
into two types:
 Low Speed
 High Speed
The low-speed shaft transfers mechanical energy from the rotor to the gearbox,
while the high-speed shaft transfers mechanical energy from gearbox to generator.
3) Generator: The Generator is the component that converts the mechanical energy
from the rotor to electrical energy. The most common electrical generators used
in wind turbines are induction generators (IGs), doubly fed induction generators
(DFIGs), and permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs).
4) Impeller: Impeller is a rotor used to increase or decrease the pressure and flow of
the fluid.`
5) Link Rod: Link Rod is used to connect blades with the hub.
6) Tower: Tower is the physical structure that holds the wind turbine. It supports the
rotor, nacelle, blades, and other wind turbine equipment. Typical commercial
wind towers are usually 50–120 m long and they are constructed from concrete or
reinforced steel.
2
7) Hub: The hub is the centre of the rotor to which the rotor blades are attached.
Cast iron or cast steel is most often used. In VAWT there are two hubs upper and
lower because blades are attached at two points.
8) Gear Box: The main function of the gear box is to take low rotational speed from
and increase it to increase the rotation speed of the generator.
Working of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine has blades mounted on top of the main shaft of the
structure rather than on the front. The working principle of Vertical Axis Wind
Turbine is simple. Instead of using electricity to make wind, wind turbine uses wind
to produce electricity.Wind turns the propeller-like blades of a turbine around a rotor,
which spins a generator and produces electricity.
A Vertical Axis Wind Turbine converts the wind energy into electricity using the
aerodynamic force from the rotor blades, which work like an airplane wing or
helicopter rotor blade. When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side
of the blade decreases. The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade
creates both lift and drag. The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes
the rotor to spin. The rotor connects to the generator, either directly or through a shaft
and a series of gears (a gearbox) that speed up the rotation and allow for a physically
smaller generator. This translation of aerodynamic force to rotation of a generator
creates electricity.
Advantages of VAWT
 Cheaper to produce than horizontal axis turbines.

 More easily installed compared to other wind turbine types.
 Transportable from one location to another.
 Equipped with low-speed blades, lessening the risk to people and birds.
 Function in extreme weather, with variable winds and even mountain areas.
 Permissible where taller structures are prohibited.

General Introduction of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

General Introduction of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

General Introduction of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

General Introduction on Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Sarvesh Pandey [024293-18]

A short introduction on them is given below:

Salient Features of VAWT:

Components of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine:

The components are described in brief:

Working of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

 Cheaper to produce than horizontal axis turbines.

You might also like