Vela 9 - Portable wind turbine

Para qué sirve

Vela 9 is a portable vertical wind turbine, capable of 20W output. The extra-light tensile structure is easy to fold and fits in any backpack, quick to set without tools. It fulfils the needs of extreme adventurers thanks to it’s advanced technical solutions.

Qué te inspiró

The decision to solve this problem arose from recognizing the increasing demand for sustainable, portable energy, for electronic devices. We aimed to create a compact, lightweight wind turbine that easily fits into a backpack, perfect for outdoor adventures or emergencies. Observing the environmental impact of traditional power sources, we sought to use recycled fabric from discarded sails for the blades, that resulted perfect for the task. Our aim is to make a step forward in sustainable power, making it more accessible to everyone and possibly laying the foundation for future development, scalability and more socially relevant application.

Cómo funciona

Vela 9 is composed by 3 main innovations. THE TENSILE STRUCTURE is kept together by an innovative "interlock", wich permits a screwless rotation and precise positioning of the glassfiber rods, creating a foldable, light, tough and flexible structure. A custom pattern was developed for THE BLADES, made by recycled fabric from discarded sails, held in place by tension, and folded when not mounted. The experimental J-blade aerofoil section permits to exploit both drag effect (for slow wind speed start) and lift effect (exceeding wind speed).  Bladeholders were engineered to keep the correct section along the whole length of the blades. THE BASE permits an easy secure fixing to the ground with pickets and guywires and contains the generator and electronics. The executive design carefully considers appropriate bearings, waterproof connections, power transfer, and ground attachment points to provide stability while minimizing the mold and components count.

Proceso de diseño

Starting from our brief, 8 stages of prototyping were developed before the final version, Vela 9. Looking at the market and after (user) research, we set our requirements on minimum power and maximum size. Initial explorations were made using sketches and paper models. After this steps, we relied on 3d printing to move forward in the development of the turbine, to also have the possibility of seeing and using the actual physical model in real time. The type of turbine was selected based on scientific research and its potential for foldability. A J-bladed vertical with fabric blades was selected as the optimal technology to push towards innovation. 8 prototypes were made to develope and refine the folding mechanism,(handlable and space saving) tensile structure (solving problems of stability, and the blade holders (towards ease of attachment). These parts took shape considering optimal material selections. Alongside this exploration, the required electronic and mechanical components (generator, bearings, etc.) were selected. Each stage of the prototypes improved a quality that could concern feasability, lightness, new features and aesthethics. In the final stages, the project was refined towards an executive design, with all requirements related to production techniques.

Qué lo hace diferente

Our product is unique in its category of portable outdoor power generation. Comparing it to portable solar panels and other wind turbines the advantages are obvious: the large rectangular panels can be difficult to fit in a backpack, impossible to use when you set up base at night or when cloudy. On the other hand, there are little to no portable wind turbines on the market, the ones that do exist are often difficult to set up, bulky, or inefficient. Vela 9 innovates on each of these aspects. By using an uncommon blade shape, power production is optimized for higher efficiency over all wind speeds. The innovative folding mechanism allows for a quick setup in 4 steps, folding down to a compact size of 51.5 x 7.5 cm and 11.5 x 10 cm – no tools required. The mechanism does not use any small screws or hinges, thus resulting in a durable product unlikely to break by wear and tear. Vela 9 is the only turbine to reduce waste by giving discarded sails a new life.

Planes para el futuro

The visibility given by such a renowed award could boost us in the development of the project, exploring new fields of application exploiting our innovative technologies for a potential scalability. We believe in the future production and diffusion of our project so that we could make wind energy affordable and available to everyone. Since Vela 9 is one of the most advanced designs of portable wind power generation, we believe that it could also stand as a solid base for the next researches on this kind of approach to renewable energies, where design and engineering meet to create cutting edge, revolutionary products.

Premios

IF Design students award 2024 - Special prize - Best of the year MDW 2024 - Salone Satellite - Selected for Politecnico di Milano exhibition stand