Quest for optimum rotor structure of low-center-of-gravity wind turbine

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The optimal rotor structure and blade section of low-center-of gravity wind turbines and its derivative butterfly wind turbines, which were characterized by simple structure without arms, had been studied by experimental and numerical analyses in order to reduce the cost and to improve the performance of small-sized vertical axis wind turbines. In the cases of large chord-to-radius ratio (c/R), cambered blade section was superior to symmetrical blade section in terms of the maximum power. Experiments of circular-blade butterfly wind turbine, whose blades had been made by aluminum extrusion, were carried out and the foothold for practical reduction in cost of small wind turbines was obtained.