Over the course of the spring, 2019 semester, I completed a course I designed titled ‘Vertical Axis Wind Turbines and their Implementation in Urban Communities’. Through this course I studied global wind patterns, vertical axis wind turbines, blade profiles and the feasibility of manufacturing and implementation of such turbines. Below are the turbine blade profiles I developed and simulations for a NACA profile blade.

 

Velocity Gradient Across Turbine Blades (along Normal Direction) 

 

Velocity Profile, Pressure Gradient and Meshing of Turbine Blades 

 

Solidworks Render of Turbine Blades

I knew from my research that any VAWT in an urban community must experience an extreme lift force in order to generate sufficient power. I researched which NACA blade profiles had high lift and low drag and then augmented their design to fit the constraints of a turbine.