Design optimization of two-blade Savonius wind turbines for hydrogen generation

This paper presents a Taguchi optimization study aimed at enhancing the efficiency of a two bladed Savonius wind turbine by optimizing inner blade parameters. An L9 orthogonal design was created, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to assess the impact of each parameter on wind turbine performance. Optimal blades configuration was determined using the Taguchi method and power curve of the wind generator was created. Furthermore, a MATLAB - Simulink model was developed to simulate a hydrogen production system based on an alkaline electrolyser fuelled with the electrical energy produced by the optimized wind turbine. Wind speeds data of Vieste, a small town located in the Gargano promontory of Puglia region, South of Italy, were chosen for yearly based simulations. The ANOVA analysis shows that the most effective parameter on the performance of the optimized turbine was determined as the inner blade angle by 91.85 % and the least important parameter was calculated as the number of inner blades, by 0.98%. Furthermore, the potential annual hydrogen generation for different numbers of wind turbines was calculated through the MATLAB - Simulink model: 2.423 kg for a single turbine, 25.93 kg for five turbines, and 57.58 kg for ten turbines.