Design of an Experimental Prototype of Low-Power Wind Generators with Savonius Turbines

On this paper, a Savonius Wind Turbine prototype is proposed as a non-centralized option for low-scale power generation. Recent studies about Savonius wind generators have been developed in last years, as they are an attractive alternative to conventional horizontal axis wind turbine. The main advantage of vertical axis wind turbines is that they don't require additional wind orientation mechanisms, avoiding complexity of design related to stresses generated in the turbine vanes in events of abrupt changes in wind orientation. The methodology carried out in the manufacture of the prototype in the present work is based on the development of the mechanical design using the SolidWorks software, moving on to the calculations of the estimation of electrical power, that after a validation of those calculations with the design. The dimensions of the principal elements of the prototype are as follows: the blades are half section of circumference with diameter of 0.25 m and the endplates of the turbines have 0.5 m of diameter. To be able to estimate the wind potential of a region, the method used was a probability distribution that accurately describes the frequency (or probability) with which a specific value of wind speed occurs, called the Weibull distribution. The average speed in the region of Hermosillo, Sonora, based on a Global wind atlas, is 2.42 m/s. Considering the calculation of the weighted average power, the generated result is 15.98 W/m2, compared to the power generated only with at an average wind speed will is of 8.64 W/m2. The results show the importance of carrying out the study with the weighted average power.