ISU researchers developing twin-rotor wind turbines
Are two rotors better than one for harnessing wind power? Iowa State University researchers are testing new designs that could significantly increase the efficiency of wind turbines by adding a smaller, secondary rotor on the turbines. Using laboratory tests and computer simulations, two ISU aerospace engineering professors have found that those extra blades can increase a wind farm’s energy harvest by 18 percent. The Iowa Energy Center last year awarded the two researchers, Hui Hu and Anupam Sharma, a one-year, $116,000 grant to launch their study of dual rotors, a project that received the energy center’s 2014 Renewable Energy Impact Award. The National Science Foundation is supporting continued studies with a three-year, $330,000 grant. Read more about the research here.