Experimental and theoretical investigation of micro wind turbine for low wind speed regions

Micro wind turbine blades for low average wind speed regions like the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan Desert and United Arab Emirates are designed and implemented. Wind profiles for two locations in UAE are investigated and utilized in the design and the economic analysis. Airfoils BW3, A18 and SG6043 are selected and utilized as candidates for designing micro turbine blades. Blade element momentum theory is used to design the blade 3D geometry. A methodology to optimize the blade geometry for average wind speed 5 m/s based on operational Reynolds number is developed and utilized. To account for the aerodynamic behavior over the 3D blade geometry, the power coefficient for the blades of each airfoil is obtained using the simulation software QBlade. Blades developed using airfoil BW3 showed the highest performance. A prototype is built using 3D printer and tested in open air environment (natural environment) to validate the simulation results. Comparison with existing commercial wind turbines according to cost and output power is carried out based on the concept of replacing wind turbines swept area with the equivalent array of micro wind turbines. The results show that the new design is more cost-effective and more wind energy is harnessed using equivalent swept area.