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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Turbine Integrated Pitching System, Elizabeth Costley, Josephine Maiorano, Jeff Larson, Cameron Jackson
Turbine Integrated Pitching System, Elizabeth Costley, Josephine Maiorano, Jeff Larson, Cameron Jackson
Mechanical Engineering
The Cal Poly Wind Power Club (CPWP) tasked this senior project to design, manufacture, test, and deliver a mechanism to pitch the blades for their small-scale horizontal axis wind turbine. CPWP competes in the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) against schools across the country, and as such it was critical to comply with the provided competition rules in addition to the design requirement from CPWP. The purpose of the pitching mechanism is to improve the performance and efficiency of the wind turbine by allowing the blades to adjust angles with different wind speeds. Specifically, this project aimed to minimize hub size, …
System Performance Model And Control System For A Small-Scale Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine, Niko Banks
System Performance Model And Control System For A Small-Scale Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine, Niko Banks
Master's Theses
Predicting the performance of wind turbines is a key part of the turbine design process and operation, as predictive models play a large role in determining potential power output and efficiency at different operating conditions to help maximize production. On small-scale wind turbines performance models become more complex, as the rotor aerodynamic performance depends not only on the tip speed ratio, but also on the flow Reynolds number. An accurate predictive model that includes this behavior on small-scale wind turbines can be used to find the optimal operating conditions for power output, and is also a critical component of the …
Cal Poly Wind Power: Wind Turbine Prototype, Sophie A. Spencer, Maggie Nevrly, Michael Reyna, Loi Q. Nguyen
Cal Poly Wind Power: Wind Turbine Prototype, Sophie A. Spencer, Maggie Nevrly, Michael Reyna, Loi Q. Nguyen
Mechanical Engineering
The Cal Poly Wind Power (CPWP) club is competing in the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The CWC is hosted annually by NREL to increase the number of skilled workers prepared to work in the wind energy industry. Our senior project team is one of several design teams contributing to the CPWP prototype turbine design including the pitching mechanism, blade design, generator, and shaft. The scope of this project is to design the yaw mechanism, tower, and nacelle. The goal is to create components that function well with other planned components and are …
Cal Poly Wind Power - Blade Pitching System, Jenna Hartley, Ben Santos, Willie Bass
Cal Poly Wind Power - Blade Pitching System, Jenna Hartley, Ben Santos, Willie Bass
Mechanical Engineering
The Cal Poly Wind Power club (CPWP) has sponsored our senior project team to design and implement a system to dynamically pitch the blades of their prototype horizontal-axis wind turbine. A blade pitching system can improve a turbine’s efficiency under certain operating conditions and prevent failure under extreme wind speeds. To ensure reliable control, the pitching system must be able to pitch quickly and accurately. Turbine efficiency can be improved by a pitching system with low power draw and low inertia about the rotor axis. The turbine is subjected to static and dynamic loading occurring due to changing aerodynamic forces, …
Medium Duty Gas-Turbine Engine Blade Removal Tool, Elliott James Greb, Jacob Thomas Syage, Kellen Thomas Field
Medium Duty Gas-Turbine Engine Blade Removal Tool, Elliott James Greb, Jacob Thomas Syage, Kellen Thomas Field
Mechanical Engineering
Solar Turbines Incorporated sponsored a team of three Cal Poly Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering students to design, manufacture, prototype, and test a tool for the removal of turbine blades from their respective disk assembly without damaging the disk itself. The tool was developed for Solar’s industrial gas turbine engines. The tool complies with all OSHA and Solar Turbines safety and engineering constraints, and was designed for use in a shop facility. The tool was made adaptable for geometric variances in multiple turbine rotor disk stages, and requires no more than one technician to operate using a maximum of two shop resources. …
Increasing Isentropic Efficiency With Hydrostatic Head And Venturi Ejection In A Rankine Power Cycle, Nathan Daniel Ruiz
Increasing Isentropic Efficiency With Hydrostatic Head And Venturi Ejection In A Rankine Power Cycle, Nathan Daniel Ruiz
Master's Theses
This thesis describes the modifications made to the Cal Poly Thermal Science Laboratory’s steam turbine experiment. While the use of superheating or reheating is commonly used to increase efficiency in a Rankine cycle the methods prove unfeasible in a small scale project. For this reason, a mathematical model and proof of concept design using hydrostatic head generated by elevation and venturi ejection for use by the condenser is developed along with the equations needed to predict the changes to the system. These equations were used to create software to predict efficiency as well as lay down the foundation for future …
Titan 130 Engine Aft-Mount, Woody Newell, Michael Haworth, Dylan Perry
Titan 130 Engine Aft-Mount, Woody Newell, Michael Haworth, Dylan Perry
Mechanical Engineering
No abstract provided.
Transient Small Wind Turbine Tower Structural Analysis With Coupled Rotor Dynamic Interaction, George R. Katsanis
Transient Small Wind Turbine Tower Structural Analysis With Coupled Rotor Dynamic Interaction, George R. Katsanis
Master's Theses
Structural dynamics is at the center of wind turbine tower design - excessive vibrations can be caused by a wide range of environmental and mechanical sources and can lead to reduced component life due to fatigue, noise, and impaired public perception of system integrity. Furthermore, periodic turbulent wind conditions can cause system resonance resulting in significantly increased structural loads. Structural vibration issues may become exacerbated in small wind applications where the analytical and experimental resources for system verification and optimization are scarce. This study combines several structural analysis techniques and packages them into a novel and integrated form that can …
Boundary Layer Data System (Blds) Heating System, John Hauge, Drew Hutcheson, Paul Scott
Boundary Layer Data System (Blds) Heating System, John Hauge, Drew Hutcheson, Paul Scott
Mechanical Engineering
The boundary layer data system (BLDS) is the result of a collaborative effort between Dr. Westphal, a researcher and instructor at Cal Poly, and Northrop Grumman. The BLDS is capable of measuring the boundary layer profile and characteristics of flow over aerodynamic surfaces and is intended for high altitude, high speed use. The instruments inside the BLDS malfunction at the low temperatures present when operating in flight at altitudes above 30,000 ft. To solve this problem, analysis was done on the existing BLDS which determined the heating requirements, around 50 watts, needed to keep the internal temperature within the rated …
Composite Manufacturing Of Small Wind Turbine Blades- Utility Scale Methods Applied To Small Wind, Bryan Kyle Edwards
Composite Manufacturing Of Small Wind Turbine Blades- Utility Scale Methods Applied To Small Wind, Bryan Kyle Edwards
Master's Theses
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo’s first wind turbine explores the methods and processes that are employed to manufacture utility scale wind turbines, and applies them to small scale wind turbines. The primary objective is to promote the development of small scale wind turbine blades in ways that resemble, as closely as possible, the construction and methods of utility scale turbine blade manufacturing. Vacuum infusion is employed to create a hollow, multi piece, lightweight design using carbon fiber and fiberglass with an epoxy based resin. A “rapid prototyping” method is developed using high density foam molds that allows short cycle time …
Performance Analysis And Life Prediction For Small Wind Turbine Blades: A Wood Laminate Case Study, Christopher James Nosti
Performance Analysis And Life Prediction For Small Wind Turbine Blades: A Wood Laminate Case Study, Christopher James Nosti
Master's Theses
A detailed study of the fatigue life of wooden wind turbine blades for a new 10 kilowatt system was undertaken. A numerical model of the blades was created using the technical software package MATLAB in order to estimate the maximum stress occurring within the blade in response to changes in wind velocities based on a wind profile approximating the location where these turbines are expected to operate. The material properties of the wooden laminate were measured using an Instron tensile test machine and were found to be in line with published values. In parallel with this effort, a three dimensional …