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Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics

Field Testing The Effects Of Low Reynolds Number On The Power Performance Of The Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center Small Wind Turbine, John B. Cunningham Dec 2020

Field Testing The Effects Of Low Reynolds Number On The Power Performance Of The Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center Small Wind Turbine, John B. Cunningham

Master's Theses

This thesis report investigates the effects of low Reynolds number on the power performance of a 3.74 m diameter horizontal axis wind turbine. The small wind turbine was field tested at the Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center to acquire its coefficient of performance, p, vs. tip speed ratio, λ, characteristics. A description of both the wind turbine and test setup are provided. Data filtration and processing techniques were developed to ensure a valid method to analyze and characterize wind power measurements taken in a highly variable environment. The test results demonstrated a significant drop in the …


Rayleigh Flow Of Two-Phase Nitrous Oxide As A Hybrid Rocket Nozzle Coolant, Lauren May Nelson Sep 2009

Rayleigh Flow Of Two-Phase Nitrous Oxide As A Hybrid Rocket Nozzle Coolant, Lauren May Nelson

Master's Theses

The Mechanical Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo currently maintains a lab-scale hybrid rocket motor for which nitrous oxide is utilized as the oxidizer in the combustion system. Because of its availability, the same two-phase (gas and liquid) nitrous oxide that is used in the combustion system is also routed around the throat of the hybrid rocket’s converging-diverging nozzle as a coolant. While this coolant system has proven effective empirically in previous tests, the physics behind the flow of the two-phase mixture is largely unexplained. This thesis provides a method for predicting some of its …