Small Wind-Powered Electric Generators for Data Collection Devices

Opportunities exist to scavenge energy available in the wind to provide electrical power to many militarily significant, long-endurance, stand-alone data collection tasks, such as collection of meteorological data. This will greatly extend the no-maintenance endurance of data collection systems. This research project will develop and demonstrate two novel approaches to compactly packaging high-efficiency small (40 W) wind turbines. A horizontal axis wind turbine for relatively strong winds will feature rotor blades which hinge at the hub so they can be folded back for compact storage in transportation. A vertical axis wind turbine for moderate winds will feature flexible blades which can also be compacted into a small package for transportation. The principal technical objectives of the Phase I research program are to achieve significant improvement in the efficiency of micro-scale wind turbines, to develop a compact packaging for the small wind turbines, and to demonstrate the suitability of smallwind turbines to provide power for remote data collection devices. Phase I tasks include designing and testing new airfoils and rotors and designing the electrical systems.