Construction and numerical analysis of a collapsible vertical axis wind turbine

This study presents a design of an efficient mobile vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) that is collapsible for relocation purposes. The wings of the turbine retract into the base shaft via a device described here within this article. The device does survive conditions up to 15 m/swinds and the unit can be raised/lowered in few minutes time. One of the main accomplishments of this research article was the manufacture of the blades from epoxy polymer reinforced with carbon nanotubes. About 7.8% enhancement on tensile strength was obtained by adding 0.75 (wt%) of CNT to epoxy resin. Mathematical simulations were conducted through MATLAB. Two working models were created of the turbine system. The first model was for tracking the forces on the hinges of the turbine assembly as the device rotates. Hydraulic forces acting on the shaft were calculated with the second MATLAB model. ANSYS was used to model the majority of the structural components. Data from the mathematical models were used to verify the structure of the turbine and shaft were within acceptable stress and strain limits. Field experiments were carried out and compared with the simulation results. The result of the experiments verified the mathematical simulation analysis.