Concordia 4D printing tech could make wind turbines cheaper, more effective

Small, vertical wind turbines could become cheaper and more efficient, thanks to a new manufacturing technique developed by researchers at Concordia.

Using a process known as 4D printing of composites, PhD candidate Emad Fakhimi and Suong Van Hoa, professor at the Concordia Centre for Composites, aim to make small wind turbines lighter, less expensive and easier to produce.

Vertical-axis wind turbines are often used on buildings and in other urban settings, but their curved blades require specialized, complex molds that can take a long time to make while also being expensive and heavy. With this “first-of-its-kind” 4D printing method, though, the researchers are able to begin with the desired blade geometry, allowing them to work backward to determine how to best arrange and orient layers.

This allows for less expensive and more efficient production of commercial aluminum turbine blades that also weigh about 80 per cent less. Testing also showed that these blades rotated faster.

That’s a high-level overview of what Concordia has done with the 4D-printed turbines, but an extensive breakdown can be found in the researchers’ paper.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Source: Concordia University