DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF SAVONIUS WIND TURBINE AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ITS USE IN A WATER PUMP.

Abstract

The utilization of wind power has been a sustainable way for renewable energy utiliza- tion in developing countries. The operation of water pump by wind energy has been used

for many years. The project is about designing and fabricating a Helical Savonius wind turbine for water pumping application. The Helical Bach design was selected because of

simplicity in design, producibility, efficient and able to operate at very low-wind condi- tions. The blade modeling was done in SolidWorks and analysis was done in ANSYS

2021. The fabrication process involves the selection of appropriate materials, design of

rotor and shafts, followed by manufacturing and assembly of the components. The ex- perimental study was done at the average wind speed ranging from 1.1 m/s to 4 m/s. The

torque was measured using rope brake dynamometer setup. The CFD approach used for study at the wind speed of 4m/s and Tip speed ratio(TSR) of 0.32 calculates the coefficient of performance (Cp) to be 0.107 and in experimental found to be 0.025. The maximum average wind speed that the turbine was tested was 4 m/s with a rotational speed of 48.18 rpm. The cut-on speed was found to be 1 m/s. Overall, this project demonstrates the potential of Helical Savonius wind turbine for water pumping applications in low wind speed conditions thus facilitating the country for promoting indigenous and sustainable energy resources for low carbon development path.