Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Wind power; Wind tunnels--Design and construction; Wind turbines--Design and construction; Academic theses;

Abstract

This study presents a new approach in which a wind tunnel apparatus is used to identify the efficiency of power output by a wind turbine with a 400W rating. Moreover, the study addresses a significant issue concerning the turbulence formed by a natural wind which can be eliminated or reduced with the use of the proposed wind tunnel. Wind power characteristics that indicate power output versus wind velocity are obtained by performing a number of case studies. The case studies include normal operation of the experimental wind turbine at variable wind velocity values with and without proposed wind tunnel. A certain level of turbulence is formed and the wind turbine power output is measured and recorded for a number of cases. The statistical t-Test and ANOV A analyses showed that the suggested approach could be useful for wind turbine manufacturers to evaluate the degree that contributes to the variability of renewable energy production. Besides, the results may be helpful to support educational institutions in providing renewable energy awareness in Iowa and in the US by providing adequate information for the selection and handling of the parameters that control the variability of the energy needs.

Year of Submission

2011

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Industrial Technology

First Advisor

Recayi Pecen

Second Advisor

William Stigliani

Third Advisor

Atul K. Mitra

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

2011

Object Description

1 PDF file (88 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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