Vertical axis wind turbine airfoil
View Patent ↗A vertical axis wind turbine airfoil is described. The wind turbine airfoil can include a leading edge, a trailing edge, an upper curved surface, a lower curved surface, and a centerline running between the upper surface and the lower surface and from the leading edge to the trailing edge. The airfoil can be configured so that the distance between the centerline and the upper surface is the same as the distance between the centerline and the lower surface at all points along the length of the airfoil. A plurality of such airfoils can be included in a vertical axis wind turbine. These airfoils can be vertically disposed and can rotate about a vertical axis.
1. A vertical axis wind turbine airfoil, comprising:
a leading edge;
a trailing edge, wherein the distance between the leading edge and the trailing edge is defined as one;
an upper curved surface extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge;
a lower curved surface extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge; and
a centerline running from the leading edge to the trailing edge, wherein the maximum distance between the centerline and the upper surface is a thickness defined as 0.5 and wherein the airfoil is shaped to have a thickness at specific distances from the leading edge to the trailing edge according to the following chart:
Distance
Thickness
0
0
0.005
0.07
0.01
0.11
0.05
0.24
0.1
0.34
0.35
0.5
0.60
0.39
0.80
0.22
1.0
0.0.
2. The airfoil of claim 1 , wherein the airfoil is further shaped to have a thickness at specific distances from the leading edge according to the following chart:
Distance
Thickness
0.002
0.05
0.007
0.09
0.03
0.19
0.06
0.27
0.08
0.3
0.2
0.45
0.45
0.48
0.7
0.31
0.9
0.12.
3. The airfoil of claim 1 , wherein the airfoil is shaped to have a thickness at specific distances from the leading edge according to the following chart:
Distance
Thickness
0
0
0.001
0.035078
0.002
0.049608
0.003
0.060757
0.004
0.070156
0.005
0.078436
0.006
0.085923
0.007
0.092807
0.008
0.099215
0.009
0.105233
0.01
0.11
0.02
0.156873
0.03
0.192129
0.04
0.221852
0.05
0.248038
0.051928
0.252774
0.06
0.271178
0.07
0.291407
0.08
0.309567
0.09
0.326335
0.1
0.34
0.15
0.408723
0.2
0.454353
0.25
0.482354
0.3
0.496254
0.35
0.5
0.4
0.495243
0.45
0.480917
0.5
0.457402
0.55
0.427095
0.6
0.39
0.65
0.353088
0.7
0.310766
0.75
0.26637
0.8
0.22
0.85
0.173868
0.9
0.127219
0.95
0.081241
0.986813
0.045298
1
0.
4. The airfoil of claim 1 , wherein the airfoil comprises a foam filled composite material.
5. The airfoil of claim 1 , wherein the airfoil comprises metal with stringers.
6. A vertical axis wind turbine, comprising:
a vertical axis rotor comprising:
a plurality of vertically disposed airfoils as recited in claim 1 , wherein the airfoils are configured to rotate about a vertical axis.
7. The wind turbine of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of airfoils are vertically disposed into groups of upper airfoils and lower airfoils.
8. The wind turbine of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of upper airfoils comprises at least three airfoils.
9. The wind turbine of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of lower airfoils comprises at least three airfoils.
10. The wind turbine of claim 7 , wherein said plurality of upper airfoils is offset from said plurality of said lower airfoils by sixty degrees.
11. The wind turbine of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of airfoils are connected to a center pole which rotates when the rotor rotates.
12. The wind turbine of claim 6 wherein the rotor comprises an air regulator.
13. The wind turbine of claim 12 , wherein the air regulator comprises two moveable airfoils.
14. The wind turbine of claim 13 , wherein the air regulator is configured to move the two movable airfoils.
15. The wind turbine of claim 14 , wherein the movable airfoils move in opposite directions to slow the rotational speed of the rotor.
16. The wind turbine of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of airfoils are disposed at an angle of attack of 0-5 degrees.
17. The wind turbine of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of airfoils are disposed at an angle of attack of 2 degrees.