Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 286e292

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Design, construction and study of small scale vertical axis wind

turbine based on a magnetically levitated axial ux permanent
magnet generator
Ghulam Ahmad a, *, Uzma Amin b
a
University of Gujrat, Pakistan
b
Grifth University, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A small scale vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with axial ux permanent magnet (AFPM) generator is
Received 1 December 2015 designed and the magnetic levitation method is used to increase the efciency of this type of wind
Received in revised form turbine. Magnetic levitation is inserted by using rare earth permanent magnets, the repelling force of
9 July 2016
magnets are used to suspend the rotating part of both the turbine and generator. Moreover, this design of
Accepted 8 August 2016
simple generator which can easily drive without a geared mechanism, lessen cost and the complexity of
the system by reducing the quantity of driving components. Three phase output is obtained from the
designed generator which is converted into direct current through a three-phase rectier to charge the
Keywords:
Wind energy
batteries. The performance of proposed prototype is also tested experimentally. From the results it is
Magnetic levitation found that the designed wind turbine performs optimally and efciently as predicted by the developed
Vertical axis wind turbine design process.
Permanent magnet axial ux generator 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction generator system which reduces power losses, maintenance cost

In recent years rapid depletion of fossil fuels, increasing energy
costs and environmental issues have become prominent issues due
to excessive fossil fuel consumptions in different sectors. Therefore,
the renewable resources are becoming a more viable technology for
electrical power generation to meet those challenges. Among
different types of renewable resources, wind turbines are capable of
producing higher power in a smaller place when the wind turbine
runs at nominal speed [1]. Although horizontal axis wind turbines
(HAWT) are used commercially for higher capacity, the interest has
now been growing for developing new technologies in small and
medium size VAWT. Small scale VAWT needs more development
for efcient use on domestic level [2].
The use of gear mechanisms is the major drawback of wind
turbines which causes losses and also increases the cost of the wind
turbine [3]. This gearbox can be replaced by using a direct drive
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: g.ahmad4@hotmail.com (G. Ahmad), uzma.amin@grifthuni.
edu.au (U. Amin).
and hence the total cost. This model overcomes the issues of con-
ventional AFPM by using a dual rotor plate conguration. Moreover
bearings also can be replaced with magnetic levitation, which
provides frictionless motion.
2. Turbine design
In VAWT the shaft is rotated around a vertical axis. To produce
power, rotation of these turbines is perpendicular to the direction
of wind. In a VAWT the generator is also connected perpendicular
near the bottom of the turbine [4].
2.1. Power available in wind
The available energy in the wind is actually the energy con-
tained in moving air particles such as oxygen, nitrogen and
hydrogen. This energy is more commonly known as kinetic energy.
Kinetic energy in a moving system can be calculated using the
following formula;

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.08.027
0960-1481/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 G. Ahmad, U. Amin / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 286e292
1 energy and convert into rotational energy, so if the area is greater it
E mv2
2 contacts more air and can obtain more power from the wind at the
Where, E is kinetic energy (J), M is system mass (Kg) and V is the
velocity of the moving system (m/s). Power is the measure of en-
ergy produced or used over a period of time. The distance achieved
by the air particles is the product of their velocity and the time they
take to reach that particular distance. Equation (1) can be further
developed to get an expression of power (P) for the wind turbine
calculation;
1 the particular airfoil. The shape of blade and the thickness is
P rAV3 Cp
2
Where, r is the mass density of air at the sea surface (Kg/m3)
which is 1.225 kg/m3, A is the cross-sectional area (m2), V is the
velocity of the moving system (m/s) and CP is the power coefcient.
The magnitude of the power depends heavily on the speed of the
wind. A Small wind turbine needs strong wind in order to produce
an extensive amount of power. Power coefcient (CP) is used to
calculate the amount of power captured by the turbine that was
available in the wind as in the (3).
captured mechanical power by blade
Cp
Available power in wind
2.2. Determine the size of turbine
The length of rotor blades and the radius of the rotor are directly
proportional to the output power of the turbine. The size of the
wind turbine is also known as the swept area of that particular
turbine. Fig. 1 shows the dimension of a wind turbine. Swept area of
turbine differs according to the shape of rotor conguration.
Because in HAWT the shaft rotates around horizontal axis so the
swept area is calculated by a different formula with respect to
VAWT [5]. The swept area of this turbine is calculated by using
following formula;
A 2RH
where, A is the turbine Area (m2), R is the radius of turbine (m) and
H is the height of the blade (m).
Fig. 1. Dimension of the wind turbine.
287
Because the area of turbine connects to the air to obtain its
(1)
same wind speed.
2.3. Airfoil of the turbine
Darrieus type turbine blades use lift forces from wind to rotate
the blades. The blades have an airfoil shape [6]. Turbine blade
design has been selected keeping in mind the availability of data of
(2) determined by the data of such specic airfoil. There is enough data
available to review the aerodynamic characteristics in documents
issued by National Advisor Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and
Sandia National Laboratory. Fig. 2 shows the NACA airfoil design
selected for wind turbine. In these documents for several NACA
airfoils, lift and drag coefcient with Reynolds number and 0 to
180 ranging angle of attack are provided.
2.4. Solidity of the turbine
The smoothness of the rotor operation is directly affected by
(3)
increasing and decreasing the number of blades of VAWT [7]. After
determining the number of blades, the very important factor so-
lidity is contemplated. Solidity is the ratio between the total area of
blade and the radius of the turbine. Total area of blade includes
number of blades and the chord length of the blade. Self-starting of
the turbine can be effected by this non dimensional parameter.
Solidity (s) for a straight blade VAWT can be calculated as:
Nc
s (5)
R
where N is the quantity of the blade, C is the length of chord (m)
and R is the radius of rotor (m). Power coefcient (CP) also depends
on the number of blades which decreases signicantly as the
number of blades decreases.
(4)
2.5. Efciency of the wind turbine
In an energy conservation process such as turning mechanical
energy into electrical energy in which partial power available in the
wind is converted. The ratio between the power generated by a
wind turbine and the power available in the wind is called the
overall efciency of wind turbine which is given as in (6).
Poutput
htotal (6)
Pinput
There are two types of efciency available in a wind turbine: the
rst one is the rotor efciency (CP) also known as power coefcient
and the second one is the generator efciency (h). The rotor ef-
ciency of a wind turbine depends on the mechanical design of the
rotor blades. On the other hand, the generator efciency depends
mostly on the electrical design of the generator. The output power
of the generator is given as:
1
Poutput rAv3 Cp h (7)
2
To get the rotor efciency the mechanical power (Pmechanical ) of
the rotor has to be calculated. It can be calculated by measuring the
rotational speed (u) as well as the mechanical torque (T) of the
rotor. So, mechanical power can be calculated as:
288 G. Ahmad, U. Amin / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 286e292

Fig. 2. NACA airfoil design (NACA & Sandia National Laboratory).

Pmechanical T u (8)

where T is the mechanical torque of the rotor (Nm) and u is the

rotational speed of the rotor (rad/s). This mechanical power is then
compared with the available power in the wind to get the rotor
efciency. To get the generator efciency, the induced voltage can
be measured at the terminal of the generator and induced current
owing in the circuit. So, the electrical power (Pelectrical ) can be
calculated as:

Pelectrical VI (9)

where V is the induced voltage (V) and I is the induced current (A).
This electrical power can be compared with the mechanical power
to calculate the generator efciency. Assuming there is no loss in
the conversion process the following equation is applicable:

Pmechanical Pelectrical

T u VI (10) Fig. 3. Repelling force of selected magnets (K&J magnetic calculator).

Table 1
Detail of magnet for levitation.
3. Magnetic levitation
Magnet type NdFeB ring magnets N42
The aim of magnetic levitation is to make a completely levitating Outer diameter 45 mm
rotor by using only permanent magnets to nullify the weight of the Inner diameter 35 mm
rotor and to avoid any mechanical contact between the rotor and Thickness 5 mm
surrounding mechanical parts. Levitation is done by using two sets
of axially magnetized ring magnets which are placed in such a way
so that they are in a repelling state. The rst magnet is put on the ux generator, and Radial ux generator [9]. The term axial ux
shaft and the second magnet is put under the supporting hub. Due comes from the fact that in this particular type of generator, the
to the repulsion of magnets, the hub and other rotating parts are permanent magnets placed on the rotor plates have axial
levitated and its weight is partially nullied. It is partially nullied magnetization.
because the center of gravity is not exactly located at the center of Generated electricity basically follows Faraday's Law of induc-
the rotor blades. When the rotor is forced to rotate, the center shaft tion which states that the induced electromotive force (EMF) in any
will continuously hit any adjacent mechanical part surrounding it. closed circuit is equal to the time rate of the magnetic ux through
To get the magnitude of the repelling force between two identical the circuit [10]. The polarity of induced emf depends on a certain
magnets the online calculator from K&J Magnetics, Inc [8]. is used. rule, as stated by Lenz's Law
The permanent magnets used for the vertical levitation in this
paper are able to produce repelling force of 78.4 N at 1 cm distance d
eN (11)
from the surface of the magnets with maximum repelling force of dt
about 124.4 N as shown in Fig. 3. These magnets can be used to lift
the rotor of wind turbine. Selected magnet specication and mea-
surements are illustrated in Table 1.
4.1. Rotor design

4. Generator design
The generator system can be classied into the permanent
magnet (PM) machine and the electrically excited (EE) machine. A
number of permanent magnets generator topologies can be used
for small scale wind turbine such as, axial ux generator, Toroidal
To establish the closed magnetic circuit, rotor plates are made of
ferromagnetic material. One possible and widely available material
on the market is iron. For a strong magnetic eld two rotor plates
are used. Axially magnetized disc magnets are used in the rotor
plates. Magnets are arranged in NeSeNeS arrangement circum-
ferentially around the rotor. The magnets on each rotor disc are
 G. Ahmad, U. Amin / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 286e292
Fig. 4. Dimension of rotor plate.
aligned with N facing S. Rotor plate dimensions are shown in Fig. 4.
For making three phase output waveform, there is a certain ratio to
be followed between the number of stator coils and the number of
permanent magnets on the rotor plates.
The ratios respectively are 3:4, 6:8, 9:12, 12:16, and so on. A ratio
of 9:12 is chosen considering the availability of space on the rotor
plates. By this conguration only one coil can be fully energized by
the magnets at a time which also means there is only one peak
voltage at a time. Magnet arrangement on the rotor plate is shown
in Fig. 5.
4.2. Stator design
Coils are needed to produce voltage. To hold the magnetic wire
coil, the stator plate is made of non-conducting, non-magnetic
material. Because small scale wind turbines produce low power,
therefore it is design to charge 12 V batteries. So at a particular
wind speed, the generator must be able to produce 12 V. To
determine the number of coil turns, Faraday's Law of induction can
be applied as in (12).
e
N d
dt
According to this formula, rst, the magnetic eld density is
calculated to nd the number of turns. The value of the magnetic
Fig. 5. Magnet arrangement on the rotor plate.
289
eld density at each extreme point on the coil can be calculated
using the online magnetic eld density calculator by K&J Mag-
netics, Inc. as shown in Fig. 6 and ux density of rotor magnet as
shown in Fig. 7.
Another parameter that is essential to determine the number of
turns is the changing area with respect to time. For this purpose
rst the coil is assumed to have a circular cross-sectional area and
the diameter is equal to the diameter of the permanent magnet.
Fig. 8 shows the stator plate and coil dimension and Table 2 illus-
trates the generator specication. By assuming two circles, one of
the magnet and other of the coil, the total area (A) occupied by
these two circles is calculated by using the basic geometry as given
below:
A area of the pie  area of the rectangle  2 (13)
5. Three phase rectier
To make full a wave three phase rectier circuit, six diodes are
used as shown in Fig. 9. The voltage ripples are small when
compared to single phase circuits and the frequency of AC supply is
three times more, when compared with the former. By using six
diodes, a smooth output can be obtained from a three phase input.
In a six diode conguration, each diode operates for a very short
period of time.
6. Mechanical structure
A simple mechanical structure is designed for the wind turbine.
Driving components are reduced by making a direct drive gener-
ator without the geared mechanism. Design of a simple generator
includes a hub, a stator plate and two rotor plates. Because of the
magnetic levitation, the hub suspends on the magnets. Therefore
all the rotating components are attached with the hub. The
generator is directly connected to hub but the blades are connected
through horizontal supporting arms. The stator plate is between
the rotor plates and attached by the vertical supporting tower.
Generator assembly connected with the hub and with the vertical
supporting tower is shown in Fig. 10.
(12) 7. Result and discussion
7.1. Magnetic levitation
The rotor blade's speed measurements have been conducted to
check the performance of the magnetic levitation. These mea-
surements were done at three different wind speeds provided by
the fan. The response of the of the rotor speed with and without
magnetic levitation is shown in Fig. 11. It can be shown that the
speed increases with the increment of the wind speed, however the
rotor provides better performance with magnetic levitation.
The efciency of the rotor blades at each particular wind speed
can then be calculated as:
56  44
h  100% 27:2% (14)
44
By averaging, the efciency of the rotor increases by 23.6%.
Fig. 12 shows the prototype of a magnetic levitation.
7.2. Stator coil performance
The performance of the coil is tested at a number of different
rotor's speed by varying the wind speed, produced by the fan. At the
290 G. Ahmad, U. Amin / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 286e292
Fig. 6. K&J magnetic eld calculator.
Fig. 7. Flux density of rotor magnet (K&J magnetic calculator).
Fig. 8. Stator plate and coil dimension.
beginning, through the K&J magnetic calculator, the value of the
ux density was found by calculating its magnitude. Only at the
center of the air gap, value of the ux density was found as dis-
cussed in the stator design section. Air gap between the rotor plates
Table 2
Generator specication.
Rotor conguration
Magnet type Neodymium ring magnets (NdFeB) N42
Dimension 30 mm  5 mm
Poles 12
Winding conguration
Magnet wire 0.25 mm
Turns per coil 600
Total coils 9
Coils per phase 3
is shown in Fig. 13.
Fig. 14 compares the induced voltage and actual induce voltage
in the stator coil with respect to the rotor speed.
The measured induced voltage is not exactly similar to the
calculated values because of the wobbling movement of the rotor
plates. Due to this movement, the rotor stator air gap increases
which reduces the output. A complete magnetic levitation is
required to hold the wobbling movement. It is important to notice
that in reality, the air gap is not uniform throughout the rotor-stator
construction.
7.3. Output power of the wind turbine
The output power of the wind turbine is measured at wind
speed of about 2 m/s with a number of different resistances con-
nected to the output of the bridge rectier. Power, voltage and
current transfer on different resistance value at wind speed 2 m/s is
shown in Fig. 15 and a complete prototype of the wind turbine
design is shown in Fig. 16.
8. Conclusion
In this research a vertical axis wind turbine is successfully
designed and built. Magnetic levitation is effectively added in the
designed prototype which reduces the friction by suspending the
rotating parts of both the turbine and generator. Magnetic levita-
tion is inserted by using rare earth permanent magnets. The ef-
ciency of the wind turbine is increased 23.6% due to the magnetic
levitation. A simple direct drive axial ux permanent magnet
generator is also successfully built which provide three phase AC
output which is converted into DC supply by using a three phase
rectier. As there is no geared mechanism to drive the generator,
the cost is reduced. The stator of the designed generator is made to
provide the voltage level for charging batteries. The electrical
design of the stator coils is made based on the Faraday's law of
 G. Ahmad, U. Amin / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 286e292 291

Fig. 9. Three phase rectier circuit.

Fig. 13. Rotor stator air gap.

Fig. 10. Generator assembly connected with hub & with tower.

Fig. 14. Performance of stator coil.

Fig. 11. Increase in RPM of the rotor.

Fig. 15. Power Transfer at wind speed of about 2 m/s.

Fig. 12. Magnetic levitation in prototype.

are many things that can be improved upon. In the making of wind
induction. turbines there are some aws of unbalancing and self-starting.
These aws are due to the lack of resources for making the blades
9. Recommendation and other complicated parts. The output power of the wind turbine
is greatly affected by the wind speed. The only mechanical
The designed project functioned properly after testing but there parameter of the wind turbine that can be designed is the cross-
292 G. Ahmad, U. Amin / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 286e292

remember that with higher output power, the diameter of the

enameled copper wire must also be increased.

References

Fig. 16. Wind turbine prototype.
sectional area of the rotor blades in order to get higher output
[10] J.R. Bumby, R. Martin, Axial-ux permanent- magnet air-cored generator for
power. If higher output power is desirable at lower wind speed, the
size of the rotor blades must be increased. It is important to
[1] N. Patel, M. Nasir Uddin and Senior member IEEE, Design and performance
analysis of a magnetically levitated vertical axises wind turbine based axial
ux PM generator, 7th International conference on electrical and computer
engineering, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 20e22, December, 2012.
[2] Li Ya-Xi, World wind power status and development, Sol. Energy 1 (2004)
7e9.
[3] K. Pope, I. Dincer, G.F. Naterer, Energy and exergy efciency comparison of
horizontal and vertical axis wind turbine, Renew. Energy 35 (2010)
2102e2113.
[4] Changduk Kong, et al., Structural Design of Medium Scale Composite Wind
Turbine Blade, 13th International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM-
13), Beijing, China, pp.561, 3e8, July, 2001.
[5] Aravind CV, RajparthibanR, Rajprasad and WongYN, A novel magnetic levi-
tation assisted vertical axis wind turbine-design procedure and analysis, 8th
IEEE International colloquium on signal processing and its applications,
Malacca, Malaysia, 23e25, March, 2012.
[6] Changduk, L. Haseung and M. Kim, Aerodynamic and structural design of a
high efciency small scale composite vertical axis wind turbine blade, 18th
international conference on composite materials, ICCM-18, Jeju Island, Korea,
21e26, August, 2011.
[7] Sergio M. Comporeale, Vinicio, Steamtube model for analysis of vertical axis
variable pitch turbine for marine currents energy conversion, Energy Convers.
Manag. 41 (2000) 1811e1827.
[8] K&J magnetic Calculator https://www.kjmagnetics.com/calculator.asp.
[9] J.R. Bumby, R. Martin, Axial-ux permanent-magnet air-cored generator for
small-scale wind turbine, IEE Proc. Electr. Power Appl. 152 (Issue 5) (Sept.,
2005) 1065e1075.
small-scale wind turbines, IEE Proc. Electr. Power Appl. 152 (September,
2005) 1065e1075.