# Biomimetic Stator Vane Design for Radial Turbines in Waste Heat Recovery Applications

## TL;DR

This paper shows how copying the shape of bird feathers in turbine vanes can improve the efficiency of waste heat recovery systems.

## Contribution

A biomimetic stator vane design inspired by bird feathers is introduced to enhance radial turbine performance in ORC systems.

## Key findings

- Cambered stator vanes increased turbine power output from 388.6 kW to 394.87 kW.
- System efficiency improved from 8.78% to 10.12% with the new design.
- Moderate camber levels (8–12%) provided the best performance improvements.

## Abstract

Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems are widely used for converting low-temperature waste heat into useful power, but their overall efficiency depends heavily on the turbine’s performance, particularly the stator vane design in radial turbines. This study introduces a biomimetic approach to turbine design by implementing cambered stator vanes inspired by bird feather geometry. These specially shaped vanes are added to a radial inflow turbine and compared to a traditional design that uses straight (symmetric) vanes. The new cambered design helps guide the airflow more effectively, leading to higher tangential speeds and better energy transfer. Simulations show that this design increases the turbine’s power output from 388.6 kW to 394.87 kW and improves the system’s overall efficiency from 8.78% to 10.12%. A detailed study of different camber levels found that moderate curvatures (around 8–12%) gave the best results. Overall, this study demonstrates that implementing biomimetic cambered stator vanes in radial turbines can significantly enhance turbine performance and improve cycle-level efficiency in ORC systems for waste heat recovery.