In this paper, we present results from a pilot study of
surrogate-assisted EAs (SGAs) used to design VAWTs wherein
prototypes are evaluated under approximated wind tunnel conditions
after being physically instantiated by a 3-D printer.
That is, unlike other approaches, no mathematical formulations
are used and no model assumptions are made. Initially,
artificial evolution is used to explore the design space of a single
isolated VAWT and subsequently a coevolutionary genetic
algorithm (CGA) is applied to explore the design space of
an array of two closely positioned VAWTs. Both conventional
EA and SGA versions are examined. To date, no prior work
has explored the use of 3-D printing within SGA embodied
evolution.