Wind Turbine

The following design is my freshman engineering (ESDGN 100) design. The challenge was presented from Construction Specialties, a manufacturing company from New Jersey. The company wanted a prototype of an architecturally appealing wind energy system that was building integrated. The idea had to be able to be installed on new and existing buildings.

My team and I got together and analyzed the objectives. We had to build a wind turbine that was architecturally integrated, incorporate a small wind approach, and we had to prove a return on investment (as in, after a while, the use of wind energy would be saving the building/company money). I was in charge of looking into ways to utilize wind energy, and I stumbled upon the 'chimney effect.' Due to inside and outside temperature differences of air, the densities of air also become slightly different, which creates different buoyancies. An example would be on a hot day where the air is humid (and less dense), while a modern building would offer air conditioning and have cool air inside. Most buildings use air infiltration where air is purposely allowed to flow in and out of the building. The different buoyancies try to balance out to create an equilibrium, so air either rushes in or out of the building. In the normal cycle, air would rush in from the bottom of the building, rise to the top, and rush out of the building. This cycle is called the chimney effect.

My group had to think of a way to utilize the chimney effect. After various brainstorming methods, it was decided that the air flow rushing out of the building would be enough to spin wind turbines. We decided that using VAWT (vertical axis wind turbines) rather than HAWT (horizontal axis wind turbines) since VAWTs would have the correct alignment for the chimney effect.

The design was simple - there would be five VAWTs lining each edge of the building and a sheath would cover the turbines. The sheath would not only hide the turbines from the public (and be more visually appealing), but would help collect the accelerated wind flow parallel to the length of the building from the chimney effect. The design, therefore, was named the 'Wind Hat.' The team built a small prototype that modeled where the turbines would go and how it would look, as seen below in Figure 28. Attached is the final PowerPoint presentation and brochure that promoted the design.

Figure 28: Wind Hat Prototype

Conclusion

This was the first project for me that involved using the design process. At this point, I was unsure of what type of engineering suited me best; this project helped me realize that Mechanical Engineering was the right path for me. It was also the first time I got together with a team of engineers to produce a product and be able to back it up with analysis of why it worked. Finally, this allowed me to see how products like the 'Wind Hat' were a step in the direction of renewable energy and would benefit society. For me, designing something that people will benefit from is the core of what being an engineer is all about - going through this process to make something that matters.