WIND TOWER TECHNOLOGY: THE IMPACT OF CROSS-SECTION AND TURBINE SELECTION ON THE GENERATED POWER

1 online resource (154 pages) : PDF

2019

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

ABSTRACTJONATHAN CONRAD CORBETT. Wind Tower Technology: The Impact of Cross-Section and Turbine Selection on the Generated Power (Under the direction of DR. NAVID GOUDARZI, with DR. PRAVEEN RAMAPRABHU as chair of committee) The performance of wind turbines in the built (urban) environments has been consistently underwhelming. Wind towers, a technology from the Middle East, have a proven history of functioning in the urban environment. Although their normal function is natural ventilation, wind towers might be adapted for power generation. Exploratory work has been completed for conceptualizing and analyzing wind turbines in wind towers using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Key design parameters are reviewed and discussed, and useful metrics for comparing these turbines are identified. The strengths of the combined technology – both technical and non-technical – are identified and placed into context in industry. In previous research, a wind tower was designed and optimized. In the first part of this work, the tower was analyzed in steady state using ANSYS, applying the SST Transition model. In the second part of this research, after small modifications to improve tower performance for power production, relevant turbine design principles are discussed, and a turbine conforming to those principles is modeled in the flow field derived from the tower analysis. The turbine was modeled using sliding mesh CFD to allow measurement of wake effects and potential disruption of normal tower function, with the added benefit of providing temporal details on turbine power production. The technical performance characteristics of that turbine are measured and discussed. A turbine configuration which generates power was identified and the potential for the technology confirmed. Direction is provided for future design, manufacturing, and optimization of this tower-turbine system, with emphasis on maintaining the competitive strengths of the technology in industry.

masters theses

Mechanical engineering
Renewable energy sources

M.S.

Wind Power
Wind Tower

Mechanical Engineering

Goudarzi, Navid
Ramaprabhu, Praveen

Goudarzi, Navid
Ramaprabhu, Praveen
Uddin, Mesbah

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2019.

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Corbett_uncc_0694N_12232

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:1942