Design and Analysis of Vortex Bladeless Wind Turbine

Chong, Zheng Khang (2025) Design and Analysis of Vortex Bladeless Wind Turbine. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

This project aims to enhance the design and performances such as drag and lift coefficient, deflection and vortex shedding frequency of Vortex Bladeless Wind Turbines (VBWT) through structural and material optimization. VBWTs offer a promising alternative to conventional wind turbines, particularly in regions with low to moderate wind speeds, in Malaysia. The study focuses on the effect of key parameters including taper ratio, length, geometry and material selection on flow characteristic, vortex shedding frequency and deflection. Using Solid Works for modeling, finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, various design configurations are developed and analyzed under low wind conditions ranging from 3 to 5 m/s. Glass fiber is selected for the mast due to its lightweight and mechanical robustness, while nylon is chosen for the rod for its flexibility to support the oscillatory movement. The length is set with 2400mm, and taper ratio from 1 to 3.5 was investigated. A new structure of the mast body with a helical ribbed surface inspired by the structure of a screw was invented. The taper ratio of 3 with highest drag and lift force produced, 1.149 and 0.653N was chosen as the optimum taper ratio. helical ribbed cylinder has the higher value of deflection of 190.90mm compared to tapered cylinder with value of 35.24mm. The helical ribbed cylinder also has a higher ratio of vortex shedding frequency against natural frequency with a value of 0.1913 compared to tapered cylinder’s 0.0895. This establishes a strong foundation for understanding the potential improvements and performance of VBWT designs. The findings from this study are expected to contribute to the development of more efficient, low-cost wind energy solutions for sustainable power generation.