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Technological University of the Philippines

College of Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

PROJECT STUDY 1

Development of a Portable Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Submitted By:

Baldomero, Brael Maru S.

Domaoal, Kenneth I.

Gella, Duke Gregory J.

Merjudio, John Jelmer M.

Reyes, Jomar Allen C.

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Chapter I

The Problem and Its Background

Introduction

Electricity is one of the most important creation by science to mankind.

Electricity is used to light surroundings, to work fans, for transportation and

communication which are used by people that's why it is considered one of

the daily life necessities. One of the sources of electricity is wind turbine.

In early 5,000 BC people used wind energy to propel boats along Nile

river. Then windmill was created by Persians in approximately 900 AD. Wind

is important as a major source of renewable energy for many years. Many

inventors have been investing so much time to study converting the wind to

generate power to be used as an electricity. Wind power has a major impact

in the world since it is environment friendly.

Wind turbine is machine that collects wind to convert kinetic energy to

mechanical energy which is then converted to electrical power. Years gone

by many research and development proposed for the design of wind turbine

and one of them is Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). Using vertical axis

wind turbine, it can easily collect the wind in any directions.

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Background of the Study

Electrical shortage and unavailability are still one of the problems in

rural areas. This project, vertical axis wind turbine, aims to provide additional

electricity supply to areas in need. The design is made portable to allow

convenient transfer to remove the limitation of helping only the area where it

is first installed. The blade is also designed to harness wind energy regardless

of wind’s direction. This makes it viable even at low-mid altitude areas where wind

power is not as abundant compared to high altitude areas. The ideal materials

chosen are also low-cost to be better in terms of economy.

Conceptual Framework

The initial process of the research was to recall the knowledge from

various subjects and ideas from old researches that will contribute to the

building of this project including the necessary materials to fabricate the

prototype. The design process includes all the necessary specifications for

the machine and the overall look of the machine which will be designed

from certain principles and with the use of ergonomics.

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Knowledge
Machine Design
Kinematics Design Process
Fluid Mechanics Prototype Design
Analysing of
Material calculations and Output
Requirements specifications
Development of a
Blade Fabrication Portable Vertical
Shaft Testing Axis Wind Turbine
Bearing Operation and
Gearbox evaluation
Generator Revisions
Inverter
Battery

Objectives

The general objective of the study is to develop a portable wind turbine

that can generate electricity from wind regardless of the wind’s direction.

Specifically, it will carry the following sub-objectives

1. To design the system and the following system components that will

satisfy the following

1.1 To produce 50 watts of power

1.2 To design a gearbox that will increase the rotational speed

provided by the shaft to the requirement of the generator

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1.3 To develop a lower cost wind turbine compared to the usual price

by using low-cost materials

1.4 To make the wind turbine portable for easy transfer to different

places that need additional electricity

2. To fabricate as designed using selected materials and preplanned

fabrication processes

3. To test the project design’s in the following criteria:

3.1 Power output

3.2 Mechanical efficiency

3.3 Proper material selection

3.4 Portability

4. To evaluate the acceptability of the project in terms of:

4.1. Functionality

4.2 Safety

4.3 Economy

4.4 Portability

Significance of the Study

The project aims to help different areas that requires additional

electricity. It is intended to be portable for convenient transfer to areas in

need. The blades are designed to harness wind energy regardless of

direction.
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Scope and Delimitations of the Study

The scope of the project covers the design of blade and gearbox of a

vertical axis wind turbine. It also includes the testing of project to determine

the speed, torque and output of vertical axis wind turbine.

However, the project does not include the design and development of

generator, inverter and battery only the mechanical components such as

blades, gearbox and shaft.

Definition of terms

Blade – it is the one that will catch the velocity of the wind to transfer the

speed to the shaft.

Shaft – this will transmit the torque produced to the gears.

Generator – this is the one responsible for power generation

Inverter – device used to convert DC voltage to AC voltage

Gearbox – this will transmit the speed delivered by the shaft to the

generator.

Bearing – will lessen the friction on the shafts for smoother transition
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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Conceptual Literature

Wind Power in the Philippines

The wind power in the Philippines still has an untapped potential

due to the small percentage of usage in the country but can provide a

power load that can reach up to 76 Gigawatts.

Significant wind energy sources in the Philippines include the

Bangui Wind Farm, Burgos Wind Farm, and Caparispisan Wind Farm all

located in Ilocos Norte, the Nabas Wind Farm in Aklan, Pililia Wind Farm

in Rizal, San Lorenzo Wind Farm in Guimaras, and the Wind Energy

Power System in Oriental Mindoro.

Bangui Wind Farm

Figure 2.1
The Bangui Wind Farm is one, if not the most, famous producer of

wind power in the Philippines. The Bangui Wind Farm started its operation
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in 1996 being the Southeast Asia’s biggest wind farm at the time of its

inception. Being operated by the NorthWind Power Development

Corporation, the Bangui Wind Farm provides 33 megawatts resulting in

the 50% of Ilocos Norte’s electricity.

The Bangui Wind Farm is installed along the shoreline of the

Bangui Bay just in front of the West Philippine Sea near the Asia-Pacific

monsoon where the North Westerly wind are regularly active which makes

it in an ideal area for harnessing wind energy. The windmill turbine stands

at 70 meters high each having three vertical rotor blades.

Pililla Wind Farm

Figure 2.2

The Pililla Wind Farm is a $100-million project that was built to

supply energy in the the area which has the largest energy demand in the

country being Rizal and Metro Manila. According to Alternergy Wind One
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Corp., the company operating the wind farm, it is estimated that Pililla

Wind Farm generates almost 150 Gigawatt hours of electricity per year.

Located at barangay Halayhayin in Pililla, Rizal, the Pililla Wind

Farm consists of 27 wind turbines all towering at 300 meters above sea

level that can each produce 2 Megawatts of power. By standing along the

Northwest-Southeast Line, the wind farm is able to use the Amihan from

October to March allowing each turbines to reach a speed of 36km/hr.

According to Alternergy, being located near Metro Manila means the short

distance that the electricity will travel minimizes the transmission losses.

Wind Energy and Wind Turbines

Wind energy also known as wind power is defined as the process

of using wind as the source of generation of electricity or mechanical

power. Wind turbines are the main instrument in harnessing power from

wind. Wind turbines transforms the kinetic energy caused by the wind to

mechanical energy which then can be used to perform different task or

use generators to convert mechanical power into useful electricity.

Wind turbines uses aerodynamic force from the rotor blades to

convert the wind energy into electricity. The wind turbines’ blade is

designed in which the wind’s flow can create pressure difference between

the two sides of the blade. This pressure difference causes lift and drag in

which the blades’ design causes the lift to be stronger than the drag

resulting in the spinning of the blade and the rotor. The rotor is then
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connected to a generator directly via direct drive turbine or by a gearbox

that speeds up the rotation completing the transformation of kinetic wind

energy to electricity.

Types of turbines:

1. Horizontal-Axis Turbines – Typically has a three-blade vertical propeller

that catches the win face on. These are what people picture out when they

think of wind turbines.

Figure 2.3
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2. Vertical-Axis Turbines – The turbines of these are omnidirectional which

means they don’t need specific wind directions to function and operate.

Figure 2.4

Blades

Figure 2.5
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The blade is used to directly harness the wind force in the

surroundings. The blade will be the main source of rotation in the system.

It is designed to cause rotation regardless of the direction of the wind.

Shaft

Figure 2.6
This project will use shaft to translate the rotation of wind turbine

blades into mechanical work. This is done by connecting the wind blades

to the shaft which is then connected to the gear box

Bearing

Figure 2.7
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The bearings will be installed to connect the blades and the shaft.

The bearing will help smoothen the rotation of the shaft and reduce

frictional forces opposing against the shaft.

Gear Box

Figure 2.8

The gearbox will be used to increase the speed of rotation

produced by the shaft and blades. The enhanced rotation then be

transferred to the generator.

Generator

Figure 2.9
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Generator is connected to the end of the gearbox which initiates the

rotation in the generator. It is the generator’s function to convert this

rotational motion into direct current electricity.

Inverter

Figure 2.10
The inverter is then used to convert the produced direct current

electricity of the generator into alternating current electricity. It is required

to convert to AC voltage before transferring into the battery.

Battery

Figure 2.11
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The battery will be used to collect and store the produced energy

from the inverter. This will be placed at the end of the system and will be

the direct source of useable electricity.

Research Literature

Design and Construction of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine by Piyush Gulve

and Dr. S.B.Barve

This Rural Electrification Project via wind turbine is intended to design an

energy source that can be viable for domestic use specifically installed on

rooftops. The decision of choosing vertical axis over horizontal ones includes

having a more compact design while having the same energy output, less

noise, easy installation and maintenance, and operates on all wind directions.

Assembly:

Figure 2.12
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Design Specifications:

Wind Rotor Rated Power 35W

Cut in speed 3 m/s

Rated speed 6.67 m/s

Rotor Diameter 1m

Swept area 1 m^2 (1mx1m)

Brake Not Required

Generator Generator Type DC generator

Electric Transmission Brushless

Turbine blade Blade Type J-type(drag)

Blade Number 3

Blade Material GI sheet w/ Wooden

Frame

Hub Material MS

Blade Dimension Length 1m

Cup radius 0.126m

Controller PC16877A
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Efficiency Investigation of a Helical Turbine for Harvesting Wind Turbine

by Nathan Willard

The investigation is held to compare the efficiency of two different designs of

wind turbines being Dr. Alexander M. Gorlov’s patented helical turbine and

Georges J. M. Darrius design. Gorlov claimed that he improved Darrius’ design

by removing pulsating stresses on the blades thus increasing the efficiency of the

turbine by around 30%-35%. The tests are observed and measure using a torque

meter with a tachometer.

Darrius’ patent for his turbine:

Figure 2.13

Turbine design used for the test (Gorlov’s design)

Figure 2.1
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Turbine Efficiency Results:

The turbine efficiency test shows that the expected 30%-35% efficiency is

not met and the results just reached a poor 0.35% at best.
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Chapter III

Methodology

In this chapter it presents the procedures to be used to develop the

project concerning about the design and fabrication.

Research Design

The research and design of the project is focused on producing a

blade vertically to gather wind in any direction. Adding gearbox on a vertical

axis wind turbine to increase the kinetic energy transferred to a generator to

collect more electricity. The project is designed to be portable to make it easy

to transfer to any location.

It also concerns about lessening the cost of materials so it can be

affordable. The design of a blade is one of the factor that makes it more

environmentally friendly.
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Research/Project Development

Step 1:
Step 6:
Problem Is the
Identification Evaluation
quality
good? Yes

Step 2: No
Step 5:
Output:
Conceptuali Testing
zation Produce
Optional Electricity
Step:
Modification
Step 3: Step 4:
Design Fabrication

Problem Identification

The operation of the portable vertical axis wind turbine is same with other

vertical axis wind turbine. But those regular vertical axis wind turbines cannot be

transferred to any place compared to our project. Also, some of regular turbine

are operating without gearbox. The use of gearbox is to increase the rotational

speed at generator to gain more power.

Preliminary Investigation/Conceptualization

The proposed project aims to develop a wind turbine that can utilize wind

energy regardless of its wind direction. Another feature of this project is to make

the wind turbine portable to be made convenient wherever additional energy is

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required. Using aluminum sheet, this project also aims to be as affordable as

possible compared to other wind turbines without sacrificing the energy output.

Design

Blade – to collect wind in any direction and made in aluminum

Shaft – connecting the blade and the gearbox

Gearbox – to increase the rotational speed of low speed rotor in to high

speed generator

Bearing – to have a smoother rotation

Generator – responsible for electrical power

Inverter – to convert DC voltages to AC voltages

Battery – to store wind generated power

Design Concept
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Fabrication

Design and calculation of mechanism is done for computing the air

velocity that will impact in blades. The design of the blades are semi-circular

to utilize the wind.

The following process will be used in fabrication of vertical axis wind turbine:

Metal Sheet Cutting Machine – to cut the exact size of aluminum strips for

blades.

Sheet roll forming machine – to bend the aluminum strips in specific radius of

blades.

Welding Machine – To join the bent aluminum strips to the base of the blades.

Drilling machine – to make a hole for rivet and a hole for gears.

Lathe machine – for tapering of shafts and making a gear blank

Milling machine – for making a gear’s teeth

After analyzing the materials to be used, parts and the components will

undergo process for fabrication. Then it will be assembled base on project

design or design of mechanism.

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Testing Procedure

1. Installing the wind turbine

2. Measuring the wind speed with anemometer

3. Measuring the shaft RPM with tachometer

4. Measuring the power output with voltmeter

Evaluation Criteria

1. Power output

2. Shaft RPM

3. Wind speed

Final Modification

After the series of testing, the final modifications will be decided depending

on the main problems that will arise. The modifications will be adjusted to satisfy

the needed quality of work and the capacity of the components of the machine.

Instruments and Techniques Used/ Instrumentation

1. Anemometer – used in checking the wind speed

2. Voltmeter – used in checking the voltage output of the design

3. Tachometer – used in checking the shaft’s RPM

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Schedule of Activities

1-Oct 21-Oct 10-Nov 30-Nov 20-Dec 9-Jan 29-Jan 18-Feb 9-Mar

Research and Revisions

Designing and Selection of Materials

Finding Possible Recipients

Fabrication

Testing and Reavaluation

Modifications

Final Testing