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+61 419 733 000

We believe that wind power is an important component in renewable energy industry.

Nominal power 15 kW

Nominal speed 86 RPM

See details See te aseembly video

See the assembly video

ENERGY CALCULATOR AXOWIND

Move the sliders to see the how changes affect the average energy output

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

SPECIAL FEATURES

Designed for low noise

Direct drive generator for reliability and low maintenance

Durable carbon fibre construction

Constant RPM in high wind conditions

Constant power at 15 kW at wind speeds above 11m/s

Passive aerodynamic speed control

Fail-safe generator braking, disk brake and vibration monitoring

Hydraulic tower for easy inspection and maintenance

CONSISTENT PRODUCTION PROCESS

Development Design Electrical Manufacture Testing Installation Performance 100% PRODUCT
QUALITY GUARANTEE

DEVELOPMENT

All design has been done using CAD (SolidWorks and CATIA).
ANSYS FLUENT has also been used - for 2D CFD analysis of the rotating turbine.
3D FLUENT analysis of one blade has been performed in order to assess pressure distribution on the blade.

Scale model tests of a scled turbine model confirmed self-starting properties.
Field tests using a half-scale turbine mounted on a moving car produced power characteristics which could be expected from a half-scale turbine (4kW at speed 11 m/s)

DESIGN

In order to analyse turbine's performance and aerodynamic loads - a simulator based on Cascade Theory has been created.
The results from Axowind simulator a very close to the results produced by QBlade - a simulator program from Wind Energy Group of the Berlin Institute of Technology.
In the process of turbine design - Finite Element Method (PATRAN/NASTRAN) has been used, with all details of the turbine modeled.
As for the turbine itself - the generator was also modeled using FEM in order to calculate deflections and internal loads.
The stresses and strains in composite blade have been analysed as per IEC 61400-2 Part 2 "Small Wind Turbines".
The dynamic characteristics of the turbine have been calculated using a FEM model which also included custom-made tower. The scope of dynamic analysis included Normal Modes, Frequency Response and Rotor Dynamics (NASTRAN).
Campbell's diagram illustrates the normal modes which have been tuned to avoid resonance.

ELECTRICAL

The turbine can be delivered in On-Grid or Off-Grid configuration.
Both configurations of the turbine include smart controller which regulates the rotational speed of the turbine according to wind conditions
The controller works together with a high-quality inverter.

MANUFACTURE

The PSMG generator is made using high-quality materials - including aircraft-grade aluminium.
The generator's windings are on a stator - while the rotor contains magnets.
Both struts and blades of the turbine are made using high-quality carbon/epoxy prepreg from TOHO TENAX (Japan).
Struts and blades are fabricated using a high-pressure cure cycle and a proprietary technique.
After cure - composite parts are inspected for defects and conformity with the design drawings.
Finished parts (strut shown) are prepared for the application of paint.
Painted parts prior to assembly are stored in dedicated racks.
Trial assembly of the prototype turbine allowed for fine-tuning of the assembly process.

TESTING

Bench tests of the generator have been performed in order to assess efficiency and all electrical parameters.
Finished generator is being checked for conformity and electrical compliance.
The bench tests of the generator confirmed high efficiency of the generator within the whole range of working RPMs.

In order to produce accurate design data - laboratory tests of composite materials have been performed (static tests matrix shown).
The results confirmed high quality of the composite materials, and have been used to produce allowable stresses and strains.
Critical for composite strength tests of Compression After Impact produced results which compare well with material manufacturer's data.

Separate series of fatigue tests using composite coupons confirmed that the blades should have expected service life of 20+ years.
Static test of the blade has also been carried out, with loading exceeding 200% of the ultimate loads expected in service (with no failure of the blade)
The results of static test confirmed high strength of the composite blade, with differences no larger than 1.7% as compared with FEM analysis.

INSTALLATION

The preferred method of installing the turbine is a concrete foundation with steel reinforcement bars
The foundation can be fabricated on-site using a contractor with experience in concrete/building industry
Hydraulic erection system has been custom-designed for the turbine, using hydraulic rams with 50T capacity.
The tower is assembled in horizontal position, followed by assembly of the generator at the top end of the tower.
The struts and the blades are assembled at the ground level, without using any specialized equipment.
After finished assembly - the turbine is raised to its working position using the hydraulic erection system
At the end of the whole process - the only missing component is the wind itself…

PERFORMANCE

The predicted performance of the turbine is based on detailed aerodynamic analysis using a simulator
Above the nominal wind speed of 11 m/s, the turbine is stall-controlled by maintaining constant RPM.