Performance of the prototype shaftless small scale horizontal wind turbine for electricity generating from industrial exhaust air system

Abstract

Man-made or unnatural wind from the industrial exhaust air system is an alternative wind resource for countries with natural low-speed or intermittent wind such as Thailand. It has strong and consistent wind speed when compared to the natural wind, with velocity about 5 to 10 m/s at a distance of 5 cm from the exhaust air outlet. However, some negative impacts to the exhaust air system performance was observed when a conventional wind turbine was employed. The objective of this research is to feasibility study the practicality of a prototype shaftless small scale horizontal axis wind turbine (SSHWT) to generate electricity from the exhaust air of the industrial exhaust air system. Aerodynamic, blade and generator designs were addressed in this study to maximize energy output and minimize negative impacts to the performance of the original exhaust air system. The performance of SSHWT was tested with a selected industrial fan that is widely used in industrial sections. The results showed that the SSHWT could generate electricity with less negative effect to exhaust air system performance. However, it still needs further improvements caused by the voltage output is too low. By the concept design, this innovative wind turbine is compact, thus needs only small space for installation. This SSHWT has high market potential for low wind speed countries to take advantage of unnatural wind resources which are better in terms of efficiency and economy for sustainable energy development.

Comprehensive Analysis of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems for Efficient Energy Harnessing from Unnaturally Generated Wind Sources

“…Locating the turbine at a high point in the duct can cause the back force to reduce significantly. In the research by Wachira Puttichaem et al [100,101], the researchers suggested an efficiency of 51%, which is close to the Betz limit. From this, it is clear that housing such SSHWT within an augmentation device would increase its efficiency exponentially.…”

“…As per the study by Chong et al [69,106], 13% of the power required by the cooling tower can be recovered. Likewise, for the study by Wachira Puttichaem et al [101], an energy recovery of 51% was obtained from the stream. In monetary terms, the savings are enormous.…”

“…In 2020, Wachira Puttichaem et al [100,101] proposed the possibility of a negative impact on the system due to the implementation of traditional wind turbines. The analysis of the actuator disk theory can be used as a support to the researchers' statement.…”

Early development of a shaftless horizontal axis wind turbine for generating electricity from air discharged from ventilation systems

“…The authors proposed the idea of the shaftless horizontal axis wind turbine, 21 which created an open channel in the middle of the wind turbine using the tilted blades to release the discharge air into the environment. This design was a lab-scale test.…”

Comprehensive Analysis of Factors Underpinning the Superior Performance of Ducted Horizontal-Axis Helical Wind Turbines

“…Mann and Singh [8][9][10] advocated for augmenting velocity in industrial flue gas using appropriate diffusers, achieving remarkable velocities of 20 m/s and 57.2 m/s with VAWT configurations featuring NACA airfoils. Wachira Puttichaem et al [11,12] proposed a novel design for small scale horizontal wind turbines (SSHWT) catered towards air conditioning systems' exhaust, introducing innovative generator technology without specifying velocity increases. Lastly, Douglas Yeboah et al [13] explored the potential of underground mine exhaust for power generation, achieving a velocity of 7.67 m/s, albeit without detailed velocity augmentation strategies.…”