This research objective of this EAGER award is to develop design guidelines for wind energy systems by identifying the optimal conditions for maximum power-extraction at different scales of the turbulent flow, and different topographical settings. This research will explore critical aspects of wind energy systems. While this exploration is progressing nationally with deliberate speed, the proposed research is intended to fill a critical interdisciplinary void that falls at the nexus of design, economics, fluids, structures, and dynamics. The proposed research explores the impact of wind turbine arrays design on power efficiency, which will contribute to the development of design guidelines. This effort addresses critical design issues that are beyond the scope of the fluids community. In particular, we will quantify the impact of primordial external parameters (e.g., interaction between wind turbine, topography, location, size, arrangements and turbine blade pitching angle). The research provides the much-needed understanding of how these wind turbine arrays interact among themselves, and how they can optimally extract energy under highly uncertain conditions.
If successful, the timely release of the results of this research will provide a design guide in the rapidly progressing research and development of wind energy production nationally. In addition, following the NSF-Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NSF-AGEP) model for minority students under which one PI undertook his graduate studies, several activities will be set in place to further increase the number of scientist in STEM fields. NSF-AGEP goals are to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in academia. The PIs will recruit 5 undergraduate students from Puerto Rico and RPI to participate in a research-intensive summer program during the year of this research. These students and one graduate student will gain exposure to the field of engineering/wind energy with state-of-the-art technologies (modeling).
