Design and Aerodynamic Analysis of a Bio-inspired HAWT with Albatross and Stork Airfoil for Low Wind Velocity using CFD

Renewable energy is expected to grow in importance over the next few decades, with renewable energy being the primary source of energy. As a result, some wind energy research tends to focus on increasing turbine efficiency by changing the blade design to improve its overall efficiency. Albatross and Stork are migrating birds known for their effortless flight and dynamic soaring that enables them to fly over the open sea for weeks during migration without flapping their wings at low wind velocity. In this paper, the design and aerodynamic performance of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) with airfoils inspired by migrating birds (Albatross and Stork) for low wind velocity applications will be presented using CFD multiphysics software - ANSYS Fluent. The proposed wind turbines were analyzed in a wide range of angular velocities at a wind velocity of 5 m/s. The Albatross HAWT produced a power output of 1.71 W, 6.66 W, 17.28 W, 22.68 W, 22.95 W, 21.24 W, 17.85 W at 10 rad/s, 20 rad/s, 30 rad/s, 40 rad/s, 50 rad/s, 60 rad/s, and 70 rad/s, respectively. The Stork HAWT produced a power output of 1.20 W, 4.80 W, 10.26 W, 19.80 W, 21 W, 18 W, and 11.13 W at 10 rad/s, 20 rad/s, 30 rad/s, 40 rad/s, 50 rad/s, 60 rad/s, and 70 rad/s, respectively. The results showed that the optimum power coefficient for Albatross and Stork HAWT was achieved at 40–50 rad/s with values ranging from 0.440-0.445 and 0.384-0.407, respectively. Modern large wind turbines can achieve up to 50% efficiency; this study showed that Albatross and Stork blades could be a viable design for a modern wind turbine as they attain an efficiency close to 50%, considering that the proposed design was carried out on a micro-scale.