Wind Turbine - Aerodynamic Analysis & Design

Overview

Small-scale simple 4-blade wind turbine

Blade geometry based on the Drela AG12 airfoil, with a 12° angle of attack

Blades have a 60 mm span, tapered from 25 mm root to 16 mm tip for aerodynamic efficiency

Performance evaluated using both wind tunnel measurements, SolidWorks CFD, and manual calculations

Design and produce the 4-blade AG12 turbine

Interpret CFD plots (pressure + velocity) to analyze lift-driving pressure differences and flow losses

Calculate torque and mechanical power across wind speeds and compare to measured electrical output

Analyze the model by assuming the center of pressure is at ~2/3 of the span to convert lift to torque

Maintaining blade shape and stiffness with printed materials

Gap between hypothetical mechanical power predictions (lift model + CFD) and measured electrical power, due to losses

Mechanical issues like shaft wobble increasing losses and reducing usable output

Base requiring a slight rotation for proper fit, introducing minor airflow alignment variability across tests