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Title: Midwest Consortium for Wind Turbine Reliability and Optimization

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1059283· OSTI ID:1059283

This report provides an overview of the efforts aimed to establish a student focused laboratory apparatus that will enhance Purdue's ability to recruit and train students in topics related to the dynamics, operations and economics of wind turbines. The project also aims to facilitate outreach to students at Purdue and in grades K-12 in the State of Indiana by sharing wind turbine operational data. For this project, a portable wind turbine test apparatus was developed and fabricated utilizing an AirX 400W wind energy converter. This turbine and test apparatus was outfitted with an array of sensors used to monitor wind speed, turbine rotor speed, power output and the tower structural dynamics. A major portion of this project included the development of a data logging program used to display real-time sensor data and the recording and creation of output files for data post-processing. The apparatus was tested in an open field to subject the turbine to typical operating conditions and the data acquisition system was adjusted to obtain desired functionality to facilitate use for student projects in existing courses offered at Purdue University and Indiana University. Data collected using the data logging program is analyzed and presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the test apparatus related to wind turbine dynamics and operations.

Research Organization:
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
EE0003547
OSTI ID:
1059283
Report Number(s):
DOE/EE0003547
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English