Biography
Biography: Asfaw Beyene
Abstract
Evolution has perfected biomechanics of nature and engineering solutions can greatly benefi t from it. Design can take clues from geckos climbing up vertical surfaces, a kingfi sher’s beak, the baobab tree, the armadillo; the spider, sunfl owers, the treebot, a bird skull, etc. have been used to improve effi ciency and performance of assorted designed systems. Biomimicry can also be adopted in turbomachinery, adopting fi sh locomotion and bird aerodynamics. Adaptive fi n motion observed in cases of fi sh, water mammals and birds lead to the fl exible blade which can greatly improve wind turbine effi ciency. Whale fl ippers can also be adapted to improve the power output effi ciency and stall characteristics of wind turbine blades. Adaptive turbine blades that vary and adjust to the airfl ow in order to reduce fl ow separation and improve power output during operating conditions can signifi cantly impact the performance of wind turbines. Contemporary turbine blade designs are fl exible in the span-wise direction to facilitate dynamic loading reduction during gusty or rapid wind changes. In this study, we present the signifi cance of biomimicry with a wind turbine as a case study. Advances in morphing wind turbine blade and potential effi ciency gains and ranges will be presented.