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Have you ever asked yourself why wind turbines have different designs? Human beings have evolved with nature and one of the largest factors is Wind. In the 5000 BC, sailors on the Nile River used wind to propel boats using sails. Today, we create over 8% of our world’s electricity through innovative designs of wind turbines (modern version of a windmill, converting kinetic energy of wind into electric energy). The first commercial wind turbine was created in the 1850s by Daniel Halladay, which functioned to pump water, assisting farmers and ranchers to have access to underground waters. This history illustrates that wind has been one of the greatest materials for human revolutionization.
How do wind turbines work?
To understand how wind turbines work, it is essential to learn how aerodynamic advancements influenced wind turbines:
The shapes and optimal angle of the aerodynamic blades use wind to make them rotate, making them spin around the rotor.
The rotor is then connected to the generator, transferring kinetic energy created by rotation into electrical energy through electromagnetic induction.
The generated electricity is then sent through the power lines, providing electricity to houses, industries, and businesses.
Depending on the type and direction of the wind, the sensor adjusts the angles and direction of the blade to maximize efficiency and prevent accidents from extreme winds.
What are different designs of wind turbines?
Different designs and categories of wind turbines have significant impact on the efficiency of the energy. The most popular design is the Horizontal-axis wind turbine(HAWTs). It is a traditional design for modern wind turbines, made up of three long blades. Nonetheless, due to its size and location, it often causes accidents such as accidents with birds. If you have ever seen a wind turbine in real life it would have been HAWTs because approximately 95% of wind turbines in our world are Horizontal-axis wind turbines. This design is frequently used due to its high efficiency and optimization for various wind conditions. HAWTs have a power generation efficiency of around 50%, which is significantly higher than most of the other wind turbines, whose efficiency typically fluctuates between 20% and 40%.
Nevertheless, due to its high production cost and significant size, some alternatives have been developed to balance efficiency and affordability. One example is Vertical-axis wind turbine(VAWTs), which is designed to not require direct wind. Unlike HAWTs, VAWTs can capture wind from all directions, making them ideal for areas with inconsistent wind patterns. However, VAWTs generally have lower efficiency compared to HAWTs, with energy efficiency around 20% to 40%. Despite this limitation, they are mostly used in cities due to their compact design and lower cost.
Future Designs
In our world, there is a global shift of energy towards renewable energy due to climate change and the need for sustainable energy sources. For this reason, many scientists and engineers are researching designs of new generation wind turbines to optimize efficiency and reduce cost. An interesting design is bladeless wind turbine, which uses vortex-induced vibrations to generate energy.
Vortex-induced vibration is a phenomenon where wind flows through a structure creating alternation of pressure and thus the structure vibrates. The vibration is then converted into electrical energy. This idea hence has many benefits since it does not contain any moving equipment, the cost of production price and the technology required is lower than common wind turbines. Furthermore, this design provides a solution to the major problems of wind turbines such as noise pollution. By removing the blades from the design, it operates much more quietly, making it suitable for both natural lifes and urban areas. However, this has to be developed further as it currently has lower efficiency than the traditional design: HAWTs.
Conclusion
Ultimately, wind energy has developed from its early uses of sailing boats and pumping water to becoming a key source of our global energy. The efficiency of the wind turbine highly depends on the aerodynamic design and types of wind. As technology continues to innovate, new materials and control systems will further enhance efficiency and accessibility.
Bibliography
Ali Akbar Firoozi, et al. “Advancing Wind Energy Efficiency: A Systematic Review of Aerodynamic Optimization in Wind Turbine Blade Design.” Energies, vol. 17, no. 12, 13 June 2024, pp. 2919–2919, https://doi.org/10.3390/en17122919.
National Grid (2024). The history of wind energy | National Grid Group. [online] www.nationalgrid.com. Available at: https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/history-wind-energy.
Weebly.com. (2025). Available at: https://quintongraybealsanmarin.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/8/2/58827751/9336220_orig.png [Accessed 22 Feb. 2025].
Bizclik Media.net. (2025). Available at: https://assets.bizclikmedia.net/900/46a1274d6559a346fae92f7979b12272:0ba16c2b474838c37dd6aab007cf9b4d/neom-atla0-7.JPG [Accessed 22 Feb. 2025]. Image of HAWT & VAWT
Wikipedia. (2022). Vortex-induced vibration. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vortex-induced_vibration. Image of VIV
www.sciencedirect.com. (n.d.). Vortex Induced Vibration - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. [online] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/vortex-induced-vibration.
Lamas Galdo, M.I., Cartelle Barros, J.J., Orosa García, J.A., Rodríguez García, J.D. and Couce Casanova, A. (2023). Introduction to Wind Turbines. [online] ScienceDirect. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323939409000542.
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