Optimizing the Savonius Piezoelectric Turbine
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Major
Aerospace Engineering
Research Advisor
Duan, Lian, 1983-
Advisor's Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Funding Source
University of Missouri Research Board
Abstract
A prototype of a highly efficient Savonius turbine that utilizes specifically designed guide vanes is tested, simulated, and analyzed. This turbine uses a polygon shaped gear that couples a rotating shaft to apply compressive and tensile forces on eight aluminum cantilever beams. Each beam has 2 piezoelectric strips that produce electrical power upon compression or tension. A hybrid procedure of wind tunnel testing, finite element analysis, and theoretical analysis was used when analyzing the Savonius turbine. This method enabled the coefficient of friction between the gear and beams to be calculated, and therefore the power efficiency for wind to mechanical, mechanical to electric, and wind to electric was calculated respectively. The wind power efficiency of the current turbine has the capability of exceeding the Betz limit of 0.593, which makes it ideal for power generation systems that utilize wind and water energy in remote locations.
Biography
Yahya was born in California on January 19th 1995, and he was raised in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He attended an international school and became fluent in both English and Arabic. After that he got accepted into the Missouri University of Science and Technology where he is pursuing a bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering. This is the first job Yahya got to work on in relevance to his major, and he views it as his first step towards achieving higher education.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Document Type
Presentation
Location
Turner Room
Presentation Date
11 Apr 2016, 9:20 am - 9:40 am
Optimizing the Savonius Piezoelectric Turbine
Turner Room
A prototype of a highly efficient Savonius turbine that utilizes specifically designed guide vanes is tested, simulated, and analyzed. This turbine uses a polygon shaped gear that couples a rotating shaft to apply compressive and tensile forces on eight aluminum cantilever beams. Each beam has 2 piezoelectric strips that produce electrical power upon compression or tension. A hybrid procedure of wind tunnel testing, finite element analysis, and theoretical analysis was used when analyzing the Savonius turbine. This method enabled the coefficient of friction between the gear and beams to be calculated, and therefore the power efficiency for wind to mechanical, mechanical to electric, and wind to electric was calculated respectively. The wind power efficiency of the current turbine has the capability of exceeding the Betz limit of 0.593, which makes it ideal for power generation systems that utilize wind and water energy in remote locations.
