Wind Energy: Design, Testing and Analysis
Unconventional wind turbine.
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) Model to be used in wind tunnel tests.
HAWT testing in The University of Kansas Low Speed Wind Tunnel.
Calibration of a WindBlue DC-540 Alternator. Torque, RPM, Voltage and Current are measured for different loads and different rotational speeds.
Generator on top of the KU Low Speed Wind Tunnel to measure power generated by a VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine) inside the tunnel.
Resistor bank used to measure voltage and current (and thus power) for a wind mill inside the KU wind tunnel.
Resistor bank for simulating electrical load on the generator.
DARcorporation engineers are not only airplane designers. We are also very proficient in the aerodynamic and structural design of wind mills (wind turbines). A wind turbine is essentially a rotating wing, so who better to design a wind mill than an aeronautical engineer!
Our highly skilled and educated engineers have extensive knowledge and expertise in the design, testing and analysis of many wind energy devices, including horizontal axis wind turbines and vertical axis windmills. These designs are rigorously tested and optimized using advanced simulation methods and verified in the wind tunnel.
We use a state of the art test stand specifically designed and tailored for wind tunnel testing and analysis of windmill blades. It is fully integrated with data acquisition systems with real time visual feedback. It is capable of measurements in all six degrees of freedom.
DARcorporation has worked with many unconventional designs as shown in the pictures. Based on results from computational fluid dynamics, structural analysis and wind tunnel testing these devices are optimized for best performance.
We can perform the following tasks on any type of wind turbine (vertical axis, horizontal axis and exotic systems):
1. Aerodynamic design of the power generating surfaces. We can analyze your design or will design the blades and aerodynamic surfaces for you, using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes.
2. Blade analysis using blade element theory codes. We have developed our own in-house software for fast and detailed analysis of more conventional design blades. Using these types of codes are generally faster than using CFD.
3. Structural design. We will design or analyze the structure, whether it is made out of composites, metal or a combination. We will do analysis for strength, stiffness, flutter and overall system dynamics. We can select materials and provide layup schedules for composites.
4. Wind tunnel testing. We will manufacture a scale model of the mill, design the generator and bearing systems and test your scale windmill in the wind tunnel, including storm conditions if needed. We will measure the aerodynamic torque and translate this in energy generated for different wind speeds. We will recommend design changes if needed.
5. Calibration services. We will calibrate your generator and determine the efficiency curves versus rotational speed (rpm). This will tell you whether your generator is matched to your windmill.
6. Dynamics. We will perform dynamic startup and effect of wind speed changes on your windmill energy generation capability.
Consulting Projects and Statement of Work
Please Contact DARcorporation for additional information.