As part of a junior level mechanical design lab, I designed and built a 5ft tall vertical axis wind turbine as part of a 3 person team. The goal was to optimize for high power and low weight while creating a VAWT that would be powered by a team member running it down a hallway

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Small scale models were first tested in a wind tunnel, to determine the design that could provide the largest coefficient of power, by measuring the wind speed, the rpm of the turbine and the power output. This design was then scaled such that the coefficient of power was maintained. The larger turbine powered a motor that was connected to an external resistance. The gear ratio between these had to be such that the turbine was spinning at its optimal speed and the motor rpm maximized its efficiency, thus increasing power output. The turbine we design was a two-tier Savonius that  had a power output of around 2W