Highway-based Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

A wind turbine extracts energy out of wind and based on orientation of axis around which blades rotates. It can be Horizontal axis or Vertical axis turbine. The project assessed the possibility of generation of electricity out of relatively low speed generator by designing and fabricating Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). The test was performed at Pulchowk and Chobhar with the use of fan and natural wind. The results showed that power generation starts beyond an air speed of 3.3m/s and slightly higher i.e.4m/s when a belt is used due to the increased losses. It can be inferred from the data that the power increases (and efficiency) dramatically as the wind speed increases, the highest being 22.93W at 8m/s with an overall efficiency of 24.99%. The cost per unit becomes Rs. 24.36 higher than the hydropower but with the help of government the cost could be further decreased and the wind energy helps in clean environment.

The study was carried out by Kanhaiya Mishra, Manoj Pal, Narider Pandey and Sajan Yonjan, students of Department of Automobile and Mechanical Engineering, Thapathali campus, IOE in 2017

---