Development of a savonius Wind turbine prototype: design and fabrication of sandwich rotor blades with gyroid lattice core and hybrid composite skins

Abstract

This work presents the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a lightweight Savonius wind turbine rotor using a sandwich structure made of a 3D­printed gyroid core and bio­sourced composite skins. The objective was to enhance rotor responsiveness at low wind speeds while reducing mass and maintaining structural integrity. A combined experimental and numerical approach was adopted to characterize the material and validate the rotor behavior. The final structure achieved a 48.6% reduction in mass compared to a PLA equivalent, while maintaining structural integrity under operational loads, with maximum deformation not exceeding 0.05% of the rotor height. The results confirm the potential of combining bio­based composites with TPMS architectures for the development of lightweight, structurally efficient solutions.