Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have revolutionized the blade designs of propellers and wind turbines, allowing for power optimization from wind turbines under varying conditions.

Despite substantial growth in wind energy technology over recent decades, the aerodynamic modeling of wind turbines continues to rely on the’ momentum theory’ models derived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Engineers at MIT have developed a ‘Unified momentum model’ that accurately represents the airflow around rotors even under extreme conditions, such as when the blades operate at high forces and speeds or are angled in specific directions.

The research results were published in an open-access paper titled ‘Unified momentum model’ for rotor aerodynamics across operating regimes’ in the Journal Nature.

“We’ve developed a new theory for the aerodynamics of rotors. This theory can be used to determine the forces, flow velocities, and power of a rotor, whether that rotor is extracting energy from the airflow, as in a wind turbine, or applying energy to the flow, as in a ship or airplane propeller. The theory works in both directions,” said Michael Howland, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT.

The new model’s fundamentals can be immediately applied to optimize different factors impacting a wind turbine in real time.

Using the momentum theory (the basis for earlier models), physicist Albert Betz calculated the maximum amount of energy that could be extracted from wind in 1920. According to the Betz limit, only 59.3% of kinetic energy can be derived from incoming wind.

However, the new model devised by MIT scientists has allowed maximum power utilization from turbines that are misaligned with the airflow.

Until now, wind farm operators, manufacturers, and designers of turbine blades had no way to predict the impact of a fixed change in factors on a turbine’s power output. The new theory can inform users about such calculations without any empirical corrections.

Due to their similarities, the model applies to propellers, whether for aircraft or ships, and hydrokinetic turbines, such as tidal or river turbines.

Researchers observed that since the new theory exists as a set of mathematical formulas, any user can build their software. They further noted that their modeling aimed to position research in developing the wind capacity and reliability necessary to respond to climate change.

In recent research, MIT scientists found a potential breakthrough in cathode material that might be the future of battery technology.

In January, researchers at MIT also developed a new lithium-ion battery, which includes a cathode based on organic materials instead of metals such as cobalt or nickel.