Mako Shark Denticles: Maximizing the Aerodynamic Performance of Wind Turbines

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Wind is a renewable source of energy and by means of wind turbines, the wind can be converted to electricity. However, it is rarely used because of high initial cost but low efficiency. The intent of the study is to construct a design based from the scales of mako shark to maximize the wind energy acquired and improve its efficiency. Wind turbines, the conventional and the mako shark scale designed, were assessed in terms of wind turbine efficiency, power, and voltage.

METHODS

The study used quasi-experimental research since no randomization was utilized. Two setups were made, the conventional and mako shark-designed wind turbine, with three replications to establish accuracy. An industrial stand fan served as the wind source for the turbine. The experiment was conducted in a closed space. T-Test at 5% level of significance was used to analyze the significant differences between the two designs and Two-way Analysis of Variance for determining the comprising of significant results from test.

RESULTS

The voltage and power increments as the wind speed increases. The voltage increased by 15%, and the power also increased by 20%. It is distinct that as the wind speed increases, both the efficiency of wind turbines decreases. The highest recorded effciency is 46% coming from the mako shark-designed wind turbine and the lowest is 4% from conventional wind turbine. The decrease in value showed that the increase in wind speed overwhelms the wind turbine until such time it reaches its maximum velocity and results to lower efficiency. The data gathered showed that there is a significant difference in the voltage and power produced by the two wind turbines as the mako shark scale-designed wind turbine produced greater values in every trial. As for the efficiency of the wind turbines, greater percentage was accumulated in the experimental wind turbine than the normal wind turbine. Statistically, it can be concluded that the mako shark scale-designed propeller yielded greater value of voltage, power, and efficiency.

DISCUSSIONS

The study proved that the mako shark scale-designed wind turbine yields greater voltage, power, and efficiency. It presents the gap in speed and efficiency between the conventional and the modified blades. However, precision and accuracy is not guaranteed as the researcher used the standard air density value. The study should be done in a more controlled environment. The idea of applying auto-rotation mechanism and modifying the whole blades is also suggested.