UrbanWind VAWT

This capstone project explored how a small, urban-ready vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) could contribute meaningful renewable energy on a campus or near buildings, where wind is often turbulent and changes direction quickly. Unlike conventional horizontal-axis turbines that prefer steady, uniform flow, VAWTs can better tolerate complex urban wind conditions while staying compact and potentially quieter.

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The team first built a technical foundation for VAWT performance and mechanics, covering core concepts like swept area, tip-speed ratio, efficiency limits, and the structural loads a turbine must withstand. This work established the key tradeoffs among Darrieus (lift-based), Savonius (drag-based), and hybrid approaches, including startup behavior, efficiency, and durability constraints that matter for real installations.

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To ground the work in what exists today, the team surveyed 33 commercial VAWTs and analyzed representative designs across the landscape. That benchmarking highlighted recurring, practical design themes such as helical blade geometries for smoother torque, modular installation and maintenance strategies, hybrid rotors to span low and higher wind speeds, and load-distribution approaches intended to improve reliability in gusty conditions.

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The project also set realistic expectations for energy yield. Using common small-turbine assumptions, including practical efficiency ranges and a conservative capacity factor estimate, the team translated rated power into annual energy production to avoid overpromising and to frame what “success” looks like for a campus-scale deployment.

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Finally, the team translated these insights into a structured concept portfolio. Ideas were organized into Darrieus, Savonius, and hybrid families and assessed by maturity level, with candidate features like pitch control, deflectors and guide vanes, endplates/shrouding to reduce negative torque, and durability-focused mechanical architectures. The work will continue in Spring 2026 with concept downselection, prototyping, and performance testing in realistic urban wind conditions.