Comparing the Efficiency of a StandardThree-Bladed Wind Turbine to the Efficiency of a Helical Savonius Turbine at Various Wind Speeds
Many green technologies are very expensive and not efficient enough for the cost. Improving their efficiency would make them more cost effective, and it would be very beneficial to the environment and the economy. An effective way to maximize efficiency is to first determine the best type of wind turbine to use. The objective of this experiment was to determine which wind turbine, standard three-bladed or helical Savonius, would produce a higher voltage. Each turbine was attached to a motor and put into the wind tunnel, and it was turned on to a specific wind speed, high, medium, or low. The motor was connected to a voltage meter. The maximum voltage shown on the voltage meter was recorded for each trial.
The average voltage output of the standard turbine was compared to that of the Savonius turbine at high, medium, and low speed; this was done with three separate two-sample t tests, one for each wind speed. The data collected and statistical tests conducted showed that the standard wind turbine produced a higher voltage than the Savonius wind turbine at each wind speed; thus, the standard wind turbine design was significantly more efficient than the helical Savonius wind turbine.
Research Done By:
Alex Madlin
Lake Shore High School
Blake Sitko
Lake Shore High School
Warren Consolidated Schools