Collegiate Wind Competition
The Collegiate Wind Competion is an annual event held by the U.S. Department of Energy together with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The 2023 NAU capstone team will be participating in this years competition which is to be held in New Orleans, LA. The competition team consists of two Mechanical engineering sub-teams, and an Electrical Engineering team. The ME subteams will be addressing the Project Development and Turbine design components of the competition.
Turbine Design Team
For Northern Arizona University’s entry into the 2023 Collegiate Wind Competition, a design proposal for a reliable and safe offshore wind turbine utilizing active blade pitch control and emergency braking systems will be entered for competition and analysis. The proposed design will achieve a cut-in velocity of 3 m/s wind speed and achieve a rated power of 40W, as well as remain intact during extensive durability testing at wind speeds of up to 22 m/s. To maximize energy production, our team of six mechanical engineers performed aerodynamics optimization of the rotor blades using Blade Element Momentum theory (BEM), coupled with CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations to achieve optimal lift-to-drag ratios and minimize drag and other rotational losses, and performed Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to ensure the reliability of the system. The drivetrain consists of a direct connection between the rotor and a three-phase generator to minimize energy losses and incorporate a control system to ensure safe and reliable operation in varying wind conditions. Our proposed design includes a pitch control system to optimize the blade’s angle of attack in real-time, depending on wind conditions. Along with the aforementioned technical objectives, the team must adhere to prescribed rules and regulations to be competitive in the Department of Energy testing procedures and events
Project Development Team
Utilizing existing lease block locations in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, a Wind Farm proposal was created for submittal to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in association with the US Department of Energy (DOE) for means of competing in the 2022-23 Collegiate Wind Competition. Utilizing wind resource analysis tools, bathymetric data, environmental impact assessments, and financial analysis, an all-encompassing site design proposal was created. The main software and analysis tools used were the wind farm analysis program Furow, Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI), and NREL’s System Advisor Model (SAM). The power in the wind farm is generated from eleven General Electric Haliade-X14MW wind turbines to reach the nameplate capacity of 154 MW. Over multiple iterations the Net Energy yield was over 140,000 MWh with an array efficiency of over 98%. The financial analysis of the wind farm resulted in a calculated levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 8 cents/kWh. With the target performance parameters being a wake array efficiency of 98-99%, an LCOE 7-8 cents/kWh, and total losses under 25%
Connection Creations
The connection creations team will be conducting various community outreach events to build support for wind energy technologies within the community. Throughout the course of the year, the connection creations team will be organizing meetings for the team with industry professionals to help build professional development opportunities. Additionally, they will organize informational presentations at schools and community events to help build interest in the wind industry.