Aerodynamics of the Wells turbine with a Hawkmoth-inspired blade design

This work introduces a new biomimetic design for the well-known Wells turbine to enhance its efficiency for harvesting energy. In this paper, a biomimetic Wells turbine inspired by the geometry of hawkmoth wings is presented. Aerodynamics of both the bio-inspired design and the conventional design are investigated through computational fluid dynamics. Non-dimensional performance indicators of the bio-inspired design are compared to those of the conventional turbine, including the torque coefficient, the pressure drop coefficient, the turbine efficiency. The velocity and pressure distribution as well as the vortices shed from the blades are illustrated to understand the differences in flow phenomena. The results indicate that the biomimetic design changes the flow field and can attain a higher peak efficiency, especially at high angle of attack. Finally, the performance of blades with various aspect ratios is investigated to better understand the biomimetic design.