In recent years, interest in extracting significant amounts of electrical power from large wind turbines has increased significantly. However, as simple as these devices may look to the layman’s... Show moreIn recent years, interest in extracting significant amounts of electrical power from large wind turbines has increased significantly. However, as simple as these devices may look to the layman’s eye, designing a device which efficiently and reliably converts wind into electrical power represents a highly non-trivial challenge. Further complications come about when this green energy is expected to work as a module on the top or the side of a building. Extracting the maximum amount of energy from wind flows whilst transforming mechanical energy into electrical power and then feeding this energy into the electric grid of a building while sustaining minimal losses and maintaining reasonable machine production and installation costs is a fully innovative and extraordinary proposal and objective. This inter-professional project team (IPRO 323 for Spring 2011) understands that the full undertaking of this idea would last, at the very least, five to six semesters of highly efficient work and research. ? Furthermore, is the geometrical design of the entire wind turbine which, is a project in itself. Therefore, the main objective of this semester’s IPRO is designing the shape of an urban rooftop that will harness an amount of wind which will induce optimal turbine work. This part of the project will be aided through wind tunnel testing and computer assisted analysis. Once a tentative shape has been obtained, 323 IPRO progeny could evaluate the economic feasibility of the project by installing several existing or new wind turbines designs into the modular shape provided by the Spring 2011 team. Somewhat further explaining this semester’s work: On the supposition/knowledge that different inlet and outlet geometries to the wind turbine will affect the power output, this team will perform wind tunnel studies of various wind turbine inlet and outlet sections along with a wind turbine analogy (a porous plate in place of the turbine will simulate the pressure drop of a random or particular turbine, as shown by Aubrun, Loyer, Espana, Hayden and Hancock on the AIAA paper “Experimental study on the wind turbine wake meandering with the help of a non-rotating simplified model and of a rotating model”; so that the analysis can be simplified). This is in order to better understand the power output behavior of such systems in complex flow situations. These tests and analysis shall have as an outcome the conception and final design of a modular wind turbine inlet and outlet sections, which can be further analyzed with real turbine simulations to determine the viability of placing modular wind turbines on buildings. As the New Green Revolution sweeps over the world and we all become more conscious of our impacts on the environment the quest for new forms and sources of clean energy ramps up. This project intends to take the first steps on creating a new opportunity for wind power transformation in cities, a windy environment underutilized as a source of energy where it is used most. Show less
