Thomas Rogers
IBT/ISET (Engineering) (Science)
Course Status:
Full time registered, year 2
Project Title:
Urban Wind Energy 1st Supervisor:
Professor S.B. Riffat, 0.5 2nd Supervisor:
Dr. S. Omer, 0.5
> 80
• Assessment of wind regimes in the urban environment, • Assessment of the structural implications of BUWTs, • Optimisation of wind turbine design for BUWT installations. The aim of this project is to investigate these issues with a mind to increasing the knowledge base of BUWTs and consequently their successful progression towards a more safe, reliable and efficient means of micro-generation. The term ‘built environment’ encompasses a wide variety of building shapes both for domestic architecture (terraced, semidetached, tower blocks, etc) and commercial architecture (city
centres, industrial estates, business parks, etc). An assessment of wind regimes close to these structures will be explored through computational fluid dynamic (CFD) studies, the use of existing empirical data from operational wind turbines sited in an urban environment, and existing academic research data on wind flow around bluff bodies. The structural implications of wind turbines mounted onto buildings are extensive and are an area of concern for the various sectors of the market. The different combinations of attachment methods will be explored and their affects examined. Structural implications are of increased concern where a turbine is mounted in the built environment as turbulence and wind shear will mean increased dynamic loading. A detailed investigation will be performed into noise generated during operation and urban background noise.
Until now, most turbine design in the UK has been centred on a traditional horizontal axis blade arrangement. Other turbine designs may be better suited to operation in an urban wind environment. These designs include enhanced/ducted flow turbines, cross-flow turbines and vertical axis turbines. Innovative blade designs may also improve the operation of horizontal axis machines. As part of the project, two commercially available wind turbines will be installed and monitored; one on the School's wind monitoring platform, the other on a residential property. During their operation several parameters will be logged including; meteorological data, turbine power out, inverter power out, noise emissions, vibration, etc. These data will be analysed and compared with theoretical data. The project is being funded by the EPSRC and E-ON.
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Course Title:
Building Mounted/Integrated Wind Turbines (BUWTs) are a relatively new addition to the microgeneration market. Their application in the built environment has not yet been fully exploited owing to a lack of research in the following areas: