Computational and Experimental Wind Turbine Design and Optimization
Project Contact:
Prof. Ephrahim Garcia eg84@cornell.edu
New aerodynamic and structural designs may offer enhanced performance and reduced production costs in large-scale horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTS). The Laboratory for Intelligent Machine Systems is seeking students to work on projects including computational fluid dynamics simulations and wind tunnel experimentation to characterize new airfoil aerodynamics, design and fabrication of blade sections for testing, as well as finite element analysis of turbine components. Open source NREL turbine simulation codes as well as commercial analysis tools like ANSYS and FLUENT will be used along with in-house MATLAB codes. Aeroelastic, aerodynamics, and mechanical analysis, characterization, and design will be sought.
Several positions for student researchers are available in these areas and individual student objectives will be tailored to student skills and experience, team needs, and current research goals. Skills sought include:
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) experience using XFOIL, FLUENT, or CFX
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA) experience using ANSYS
- Fluid mechanics, mechanical design, and vibrations backgrounds
- Solidworks experience
- Fabrication skills including composite layup, machining, and assembly
- Experiment development and planning
- Wind tunnel experience
For more information or to apply, contact: Prof. Ephrahim Garcia - eg84@cornell.edu