An investigation into a small wind turbine blade design

The objective of the project was to design a small wind turbine blade which is aerodynamically efficient and easy to manufacture. Preliminary aerodynamic analysis concluded NACA 63-425 to be the most efficient airfoil. Blade geometry was determined after calculating baseline geometric values for low drag which was then used to calculate power. Blade's structural integrity was studied using ANSYS® software. Tested results yielded that a single layer of E-fibreglass-epoxy is good enough to sustain the prescribed loads. The results were used to calculate the total weight of the blade which was then used to determine the start-up speed. Overall the project was successful in designing a wind turbine blade that produced 450 [W] of electrical power at 4[m/s] wind speed with the start-up speed of around 2[m/d]. The project fulfilled its objective which was to design a more effective wind turbine blade with manufacturability in mind.