International Journal of Mechanical and Production

Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD)

ISSN (P): 2249–6890; ISSN (E): 2249–8001
Vol. 10, Issue 2, Apr 2020, 347–356
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

MODAL AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF POLYMER COMPOSITE VAWT

SAVONIUS BLADE USING ANSYS WORKBENCH

M. SARAVANAN
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vinayaka Missions Kirupananda Variyar Engineering College,
Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation (DU), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
ABSTRACT

Any wind turbines efficiency mainly depends on the material of the wind turbine, shape of the turbine blade, speed of the
wind and blade angle. Here material plays an important role in design of wind turbine blade. Wind turbine blades are
mostly made of more density materials such as steel and aluminum. This is main cause for huge weight and it has less
fatigue strength and more corrosion rate. The high density materials can be replaced by composite materials such as
GFRP to reduce the weight of the turbine, to improve fatigue strength and corrosion resistance and to make them more
efficient. Here Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) material was used to model wind turbine of one meter height
and one meter diameter with four different arc radiuses.

Modeling software Solid Works is used to model wind blade of four different shapes with GFRP material and

Original Article
static structural analysis and modal analysis of the GFRP wind blade is done by using Ansys Workbench analysis
Software.

KEYWORDS: GFRP, Structural Analysis, Modal Analysis & ANSYS Workbench

Received: Jan 12, 2020; Accepted: Feb 01, 2020; Published: Mar 09, 2020; Paper Id.: IJMPERDAPR202031

INTRODUCTION

Savonius vertical axis wind turbine is one category of wind turbine which converts the wind force into electric
power. This turbine consists of minimum two blades to more number of blades vertically mounted on a rotating
shaft. The cost of this turbine is low and also it is reliable. But the efficiency of the turbine is poor when compared
with horizontal axis wind turbine due to drag force. This turbine does not need any starting and pointing
mechanism. Sigurd Johannes Savonius invented this VAWT wind turbine blade in the year 1922. It was not widely
used for many years due to poor efficiency. Now it becomes more popular due to increase in the urbanized areas
and need of green energy. The Savonius blade can satisfy these needs to produce green electrical power.

DESIGN CALCULATION

The wind power is directly proportional to density of air, swept area and the wind speed. The various relationships
between the variables are provided in the following equation.

Pw = ½ ρAV3

Where Pw = Wind Power (W)

ρ = Density of air = 1.23 kg/m3

A = Swept area (m2)

www.tjprc.org SCOPUS Indexed Journal [email protected]

348 M. Saravanan

V = Speed of wind (m/s)

The angular velocity

ω = (λ x V) / R

λ = Tip speed ratio.

λ is around unity for a savonius rotor.

R = Rotor Radius

A rotating body output is obtained from the multiplication of torque and angular speed.

P =Mxω

P = Output (N-m/s)

M = Torque (N-m)

ω = Angular speed / second = 2 π n / 60

n = Rotational speed ( rpm) = ( 60 ω) / 2π

M = 60 P / 2 π n The maximum power a rotor according to Betz’s law is

P max = 16/27 * 1/2 *ρ * d * h * v3

METHODOLOGY

Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11
Modal and Structural Analysis of Polymer Composite Vawt Savonius 349
Blade using ANSYS Workbench

The methodology used in this research work is given in the above flow chart. After detailed study of the savonius
VAWT, it is found that material of a blade is the existing problem. Here polymer material is chosen to design the wind
blade which is low density when compared to steel. The ultimate aim of the project is to reduce the weight and cost of the
VAWT blade. Here four different shapes of the turbine blade using Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer material are designed
with same dimension of one meter height and one meter diameter by changing arc radius. Modeling software solid works is
used to design the wind blades. This design is exported to Ansys Workbench analysis software for doing structural and
modal analysis to find out stress, strain and deformation at various loads and natural frequencies at six modes for all the
four shapes of the blades. Finally the results are compared and optimized design of the wind blade is selected based on the
analysis result.

Table 1: Torque and Power of the wind Turbine at different wind Speeds
Speed of Angular Rotational Pmax Torque Forcing Frequency
Sl. No
Wind (m/s) Speed (rad/sec) Speed (rpm) (Watts) (Nm) of Rotor = (rpm/60) (Hz)
1 5 10 96 45.36 4.54 1.59
2 6 12 115 78.38 6.53 1.91
3 7 14 134 124.46 8.89 2.23
4 8 16 153 185.78 11.61 2.55
5 9 18 172 264.52 14.70 2.87
6 10 20 191 362.85 18.14 3.18
7 11 22 210 482.95 21.95 3.50
8 12 24 229 627.00 26.13 3.82
9 13 26 248 797.18 30.66 4.14
10 14 28 267 995.66 35.56 4.46
11 15 30 287 1224.62 40.82 4.78

Figure 1: Speed of Wind Vs Power of Wind.

Design of Savonius Blade with Four Different Shapes

Figure 2: Four different Shapes of Wind Blades.

www.tjprc.org SCOPUS Indexed Journal [email protected]

350 M. Saravanan

Dimension: Height x Rotor Diameter x Thickness = 1000 x 1000 x 3 mm

Each blade
lade has different arc radius with same chord length of 500 mm.

Structural Analysis of Savonius Wind Blade

Here four different shapes of GFRP material wind blades are analyzed by applying loads of 500N, 1000N, 1500N and
2000N. Finally the results are compared for four different shapes.
shapes

Figure 3: Stress, Strain and Deformation of R250 and R300 blade in 500N.
500N

Figure 3 shows stress, strain and total deformation

deformation of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer with
arc radius 250 mm and 300 mm at 500 N loads. The max.
max stress,, strain and deformation for R250 mm blade are 79.4 MPa,
0.0102 and 593.3 mm respectively. For R300
R3 mm, the maximum stress, strain and total deformation are 97.1 MPa, 0.0106
and 262.1 mm respectively.

Figure 4: Stress, Strain and Deformation for R350

R350 and Twisted with R250 in 500N.

Figure 4 shows stress, strain and total deformation of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer with
arc radius 350 and twisted with R250 at 500 N loads.. The maximum stress, strain and deformation for R350 are 285.4
MPa, 0.0245 and 259.8 mm respectively. For twisted blade, the maximum stress, strain and total deformation are 105.5
MPa, 0.0061 and 433.8 mm respectively.

Figure 5: Stress, Strain and Deformation for R250 and R300 in 1000N.

Figure 5 shows stress,

tress, strain and total deformation of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer with
arc radius 250 mm and 300 mm at 1000 N loads. The maximum stress, strain and deformation for R250 blade are 158.88
MPa, 0.020315 and 1186.8 mm respectively. For R300
R 0 mm, the maximum stress, strain and total deformation are 194.18
MPa, 0.02116 and 524.32 mm respectively.

Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11
Modal and Structural Analysis of Polymer Composite Vawt Savonius 351
Blade using ANSYS Workbench

Figure 6: Stress, Strain and Deformation for R350 & Twisted with R250 in 1000N.

Figure 6 shows stress, strain and deformation of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer with arc
radius R 350 and twisted with R250 at 1000 N. The maximum stress, strain and deformation for R350 are 570.82 MPa,
0.0489 and 519.67 mm respectively. For twisted blade, the
the maximum stress, strain and total deformation are 211.02 MPa,
0.012238 and 867.7 mm respectively.

Figure 7: Stress, Strain and Deformation for R250 and R300 in 1500N.

Figure 7 shows stress, strain and total deformation of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer with
arc radius 250 mm and 300 mm at 1500 N loads. The maximum stress, strain and deformation for R250 blade are 238.32
MPa, 0.0305 and 1780.2 mm respectively.
ctively. For R300 mm, the maximum stress, strain and total deformation are 291.26
MPa, 0.0317 and 786.48 mm respectively.

Figure 8: Stress, Strain and for R350 & Twisted with R250 in 1500N.

Figure 8 shows stress, strain and total deformation of wind

wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer with
arc radius R350
350 and twisted with R250 at 1500 N. The maximum stress, strain and deformation for R350 blade are 856.22
MPa, 0.0734 and 779.51 mm respectively. For twisted blade, the maximum stress, strain and total deformation are 316.5
MPa, 0.0183 and 1301.5 mm respectively.

Figure 9: Stress, Strain and Deformation for R250 and R300 in 2000N.

Figure 9 shows stress, strain and total deformation of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer with
arc radius 250 mm and 300 mm at 2000 N loads. The max.
max stress, strain and deformation for R250 blade are 317.77 MPa,
0.0406 and 2373.6 mm respectively.
vely. For R300 mm, the maximum stress, strain and total deformation are 388.35 MPa,
0.0423 and 1048.6 mm respectively.

www.tjprc.org SCOPUS Indexed Journal [email protected]

352 M. Saravanan

Figure 10: Stress, Strain and Deformation for R350 & Twisted with R250 in 2000N.

Figure 10 shows stress, strain and deformation of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced polymer with arc
radius R 350 and twisted with R250 at 2000 N. The maximum stress, strain and deformation for R350 blade are 1141.6
MPa, 0.0978 and 1039.3 mm respectively. For twisted blade, the maximum stress, strain and total deformation are
422.03MPa, 0.0244 and 1735.4 mm respectively.

Modal Analysis of Savonius Wind Turbine Blade

Here all the different shapes of GFRP material wind blades are analyzed and the results are tabulated for comparison.

Figure 11: Natural Frequency and Total Deformation for R250 mm.

From Figure 11, natural frequency of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer with arc radius 250
mm at mode 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 are 2.384 Hz, 2.3943 Hz, 3.9803 Hz, 3.9893Hz, 9.60676 Hz and 9.6309 Hz respectively and
total deformations are 24.542 mm, 24.575 mm, 37.073 mm, 37.114 mm, 33.302 mm and 33.296 mm respectively.

Figure 12: Natural Frequency and Total Deformation for R300 mm.

From Figure 12, natural frequency of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer with arc radius 300
mm at mode 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 are 4.4 Hz, 4.5 Hz, 6.47 Hz, 6.59 Hz, 23.99 Hz and 24.17 Hz respectively and total
deformations are 30.76 mm, 30.95 mm, 49.53 mm, 49.88 mm, 39.45 mm and 62.69 mm respectively.

Figure 13: Natural Frequency and Total Deformation for R350 mm.

From Figure 13, natural frequency of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer with arc radius 350
mm at mode 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 are 5.43 Hz, 5.6 Hz, 7.5 Hz, 7.68 Hz, 31.81 Hz and 32.07 Hz respectively and total
deformations are 32.52 mm, 32.75 mm, 52.97 mm, 53.38 mm, 39.32 mm and 63.61 mm respectively.

Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11
Modal and Structural Analysis of Polymer Composite Vawt Savonius 353
Blade using ANSYS Workbench

Figure 14: Natural Frequency and Deformation for Twisted Blade.

From Figure 14, natural frequency of wind blade made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer with twisted arc radius
250 mm at mode 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 are 0.0013 Hz, 3.25 Hz, 4.06 Hz, 5.01 Hz, 5.39 Hz and 8.40 Hz respectively and total
deformations are 15.34 mm, 26.66 mm, 33.28 mm, 33.37 mm, 28.86 mm and 45.52 mm respectively.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Table 2: Load and Stress (MPA)

LOAD(N) GFRP R250 GFRP R300 GFRP R350 GFRP TWISTED
500 79.441 97.088 285.41 105.51
1000 158.88 194.18 570.82 211.02
1500 238.32 291.26 856.22 316.52
2000 317.77 388.35 1141.6 422.03

Table 2 shows Stress of wind blades at different loads for all four different shapes of the wind blades.

Figure 15: Load Vs Stress.

Figure 15 shows the Load Vs Stress chart of wind blades at different loads for all four different shapes of the wind
blades.

Table 3: Load and Strain

LOAD GFRP GFRP GFRP GFRP
(N) R250 R300 R350 TWISTED
500 0.010158 0.010584 0.02445 0.0061191
1000 0.020315 0.021168 0.0489 0.012238
1500 0.030473 0.031752 0.073351 0.018357
2000 0.040631 0.042336 0.097801 0.024476

Table 3 shows Strain of wind blades at different loads for all four different shapes of the wind blades.

www.tjprc.org SCOPUS Indexed Journal [email protected]

354 M. Saravanan

Figure 16: Load Vs Strain.

Figure 16 shows the Load Vs Strain chart of wind blades at different loads for all different shapes of the savonius
wind blades.

Table 4: Load (N) Vs Deformation (mm)

LOAD(N) GFRP R250 GFRP R300 GFRP R350 GFRP TWISTED
500 593.39 262.16 259.84 433.85
1000 1186.8 524.32 519.67 867.7
1500 1780.2 786.48 779.51 1301.5
2000 2373.6 1048.6 1039.3 1735.4

Table 4 shows Deformation of wind blades at different loads for all four different shapes of the wind blades.

Figure 17: Load Vs Deformation.

Figure 17 shows the Load Vs Deformation chart of wind blades at different loads for all different shapes of the
VAWT blade.

Table 5: Natural Frequency (Hz) and Deformation (mm) of Wind Blade

GFRP TWISTED
GFRP R250 GFRP R300 GFRP R350
MODE BLADE
FREQ. DEFOR FREQ. DEFOR FREQ. DEFOR FREQ. DEFOR
1 2.3844 24.542 4.4 30.765 5.4298 32.522 0.001 15.34
2 2.3943 24.575 4.5241 30.954 5.6016 32.749 3.1573 26.661
3 3.9803 37.073 6.4748 49.533 7.5122 52.973 4.067 33.279
4 3.9893 37.114 6.5964 49.884 7.683 53.387 5.0055 33.369
5 9.6076 33.302 23.993 38.451 31.818 39.32 5.3983 28.856
6 9.6309 33.296 24.177 62.693 32.074 63.611 8.4013 45.523

Natural frequency and deformation of wind blades at six modes for all shapes of the wind blades are shown in
table 5.

Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11
Modal and Structural Analysis of Polymer Composite Vawt Savonius 355
Blade using ANSYS Workbench

Figure 18: Natural Frequency (Hz) and Total Deformation (mm) at Different Mode Shapes.

Natural frequency and total deformation of wind blades at 6 modes for all different shapes of the wind blades are
shown in figure 18.

Natural frequency is nothing but the frequency of the structure which tends to vibrate while it is disturbed. Mode
shape in modal analysis is specific pattern of vibration of any structure to a specific frequency. Due to various rotational
speeds (RPM) of the rotor, we obtain various forcing frequency which has been tabulated.

Forcing Frequency (Hz) = Rotational Speed in Revolution/Second

The natural frequency and forcing frequency of the rotor should not be equal. When it is equal, the structure of
rotor will resonate which cause the increased amplitude of vibration and it may lead to failure of structure.

The max. Stress of 1142MPa and max. Strain of 0.09 is realized in GFRP R350 mm blade at 2000N. In this
analysis, the natural frequencies of GFRP R250 mm at mode 1, 2, 3 and 4 are same with forcing frequency of wind speed
from 7m/s to 12m/s in Table 1. In GFRP R300 mm, the natural frequency at mode 1 and 2 are same with forcing frequency
at speed from 13m/s to 15m/s. In twisted blade, the natural frequency at mode 2 and 3 are same with forcing frequency at
wind speed ranging from 10m/s to 13m/s. Hence there is a possibility for resonance. So structure failure may occur in
R250 mm, R300 mm and twisted blades. But natural frequency of GFRP R350 mm at all modes differs from forcing
frequency. In this case natural frequency does not match with forcing frequency. So there is no possibility for failure of
structure. So R350 mm blade may be chosen for fabrication of savonius wind turbine blades. Moreover it will be less
weight and cost.

CONCLUSIONS

The results from structural analysis to evaluate Stress, Strain and total deformation are found good and result shows that
Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer material is better choice to fabricate wind turbine blades. Modal analysis result also shows
that the failure of structure will not happen. After comparing the analysis result of all the different shapes of the savonius
VAWT blade, it is found that GFRP R350 mm blade is better and suitable choice for manufacturing.

It is suitable for houses in urban areas to produce green electrical energy which can produce electric power of 362
Watts and 1225 Watts at the wind speed of 10 m/s and 15 m/s respectively. We can reduce the weight of the material by
1/4th of steel and manufacturing cost by 50%.

www.tjprc.org SCOPUS Indexed Journal [email protected]

356 M. Saravanan

REFERENCES

1. Srinivasan. S and Vinothbabu. N, “Design of Wind Turbine in Vertical Axis”, International Journal of Current Research,
2015.

2. Amit D. Patil, Amit W. Chake, Manoj I. Helonde, Pravin M. Gupta, “Vertical Axis Wind Turbine with Maglev Technology”
IJSRD, 2015.

3. M. Saravanan, K. G. Muthurajan, “Design And Structural Analysis Of Polymer Composite Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Blades
Using Ansys”, Journal of Applied Science and Computations, ISSN: 1076-5131, Volume 6, Issue 1, January 2019, pp. 236-
242.

4. M. Saravanan, K. G. Muthurajan, “Design And Modal Analysis Of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Blade Made Of Gfrp Material
Using Ansys”, International Journal of Scientific Research and Review, ISSN: 2279-543X, Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2019,
pp. 225-231.

5. Joushua Yen, Noor Ahmed, University of new south wales (NSW),”Improving safety and performance of small-scale vertical
axis wind turbines”, Sciencedirect (Procedia engineering 49 (2012) 99-106), 2012.

6. Murat Islam, “Design and Development of a Vertical Axis Micro Wind Turbine”, University of Manchaster, England, 2010.

7. Ben F. Blackwell, Robert E. Sheldahl, Louis V. Feltz, “Wind Tunnel Performance Data for Two - and Three-Bucket Savonius
Rotors”, Journal of Energy 1978; 2:160-164.

AUTHORS PROFILE

M. Saravanan, completed his B.E-Mechanical Engineering degree in Madras University, MBA degree in Periyar
university and M.E degree with specialization of CAD in Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation (Deemed to be
University). He is doing research in the field of Vertical Axis Wind Mill. And he is working as Assistant Professor in
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vinayaka Mission’s Kirupananda Variyar Engineering College, Vinayaka
Mission’s Research Foundation(Deemed to be University), Salem – 636 308, Tamilnadu, India.

Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11