A research team led by Professor Toshihiro Furukawa of the Graduate School of Engineering at Tottori University in Japan recently successfully developed a butterfly-type wind turbine.

The blades of the generator rotate like a butterfly, and the breeze can also rotate it without noise. From a simulation test, when the number of rotations of the butterfly windmill is less than tens of times per minute, its torque is 1.5 times that of the vertical windmill. Prototype demonstration tests have found that in the case of very low rotation speeds, this type of windmill has higher power output than traditional type windmills and can rotate in the breeze. Since the blades have no wing tip and no eddy currents are generated, the noise will naturally disappear.

According to the former associate professor, reducing the cost of curved blades is a challenge. However, because there is no supporting arm, the number of components can be significantly reduced, and reducing costs is achievable.

The report said that the material used for the prototype's blade is plastic. In the next step, the research team will consider using fiberglass (FRP) materials as prototypes.