Wind Turbine Power Efficiency: Shroud Design and Analysis

This project investigates the impact of shroud designs on wind turbine power efficiency. The study involves 3D printing three different shrouds with varying inlet angles (35, 40, and 45 degrees) to optimize wind output. Using PTC Creo3.0 for design, Cube Pro for 3D printing, and IBM SPSS for data analysis, the experiment measured wind velocities at the inlet and outlet of the shrouds. Data was collected using an anemometer and a blower was used to generate wind within a closed environment. The experiment was conducted using three different shrouds with inlet angles 20°,30° and 35° and the data collected was analyzed using a One way ANOVA to determine the statistical significance of the results. This comprehensive approach provides valuable insights into improving wind turbine performance.

Methodology:
To develop a new technique to improve the power efficiency of a wind turbine from low wind
velocities the authors of this paper have designed and 3D printed three different shrouds with
inlet angles 35, 40 and 45 degrees to perform the analysis. The dimensions of the shrouds were
designed such that they could produce maximum wind output from the available wind and
achieve the best optimal design. This project involved three different tools such as PTC Creo3.0
for designing, Cube Pro for 3D printing and IBM SPSS for data analysis. Figure 1 shows three
3D printed shrouds attached to cylindrical shaped sheet metals through which the compressed air
flows.
Figure 1: 3D printed shrouds
To generate the wind required for the experiment a blower of 7 inches diameter was used and the
experiment was conducted in a closed environment to avoid any fluctuations in the wind
direction and its velocity. Figure 2 shows three shrouds with 20°,30° and 35° inlet angle and the
blower which is used to generate wind. Using the anemometers 30 different readings of wind
velocities were collected both at inlet and outlet of the shroud.

Figure 2: Shroud with 35 degree inlet angle
The authors repeated the procedure and data is collected from 20 and 30 degrees shrouds. A
statistical analysis is performed using One way ANOVA to analysed the collected data to
determine if there is any significance differences between the all three shrouds.