Design and experimental analysis of a modified savonius wind turbine for energy generation in highways to meet the demand for energy in rural areas

Abstract

A low cost modified Savonius Wind Turbine (SWT) was designed to generate electricity on the highways, to meet the demand for electricity in rural areas. Power cuts have increased in the rural areas of India, since the demand for electricity has increased. In highways, vehicle traffic tends to create a drag force on both the sides of the vehicle, during its motion. The created drag force is used to increase the normal wind speed on the sides of the road. This energy was harnessed by the vertical axis SWT to generate electricity. A modified low cost SWT was designed and fabricated. The modification was done on the rotor blades, end plate materials and the electrical generator by using recycled materials to reduce the initial cost of the setup to `7,500 ($109). The optimum location was found by studying the rotational behaviour of the SWT on both Two lane and Four lane highways for uninterrupted power generation throughout the year. The factors affecting the SWTand#8223;s behaviour are as follows: Monsoon wind direction (SW and NE monsoons), vehicle traffic, vehicle speed and direction, Geometric location of the highway roads (SW-NE directional road, S-N directional road, W-E directional road). In two lane highways, the vehicle passing in the direction opposite to the wind creates a drag force from the vehicle and decelerates the wind speed and SWTand#8223;s rotation. This is due to the bidirectional flow of vehicle traffic and wind. In addition, it is not possible to place the SWT on the middle of the road in a Two lane highways due to the absence of the centre median. Four lane highways of SW-NE directional roads were chosen for installing the SWT on the centre median. newline