PI: Prof. V. Kartik, Mechanical Engineering

Tata Fellow: Soham R. Harshe (2015-17)

Wind is an abundant source of renewable energy. The effective conversion of wind energy to a usable form has remained a challenge. Conventional wind turbines of kilo/megawatts class are heavy structures which are difficult to control. However, wind turbines have lower efficiencies as the size gets smaller. Moreover, turbines involve complicated mechanical systems such as the gearbox, controllers and actuators etc. which make it maintenance and cost-intensive. For the rotary wind turbines, the performance is highly dependent on the magnitude and direction of the wind flowing. These issues have prevented the use of wind for low small-scale applications. Wind excited vibrations (Flutter) can be used as an alternative to the rotary-based wind energy generator. Such a mechanism can address the issue of small-scale applications. Issues related to sensitivity with respect to wind direction and magnitude can be mitigated with flutter-based harvesting. This has potential to provide better access of renewable energy to individuals and small businesses in the low income group.