Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine "hawt"

awerty www uiooFACULTY OF ENGINEERING

[B] RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL

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Name of student: Abhishek Johri Student no. 211560329

Degree Programme : MScEng in Mechanical Engineering

Topic: Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine “HAWT”

Supervisor: Dr Freddie. L. Inambao

Co-supervisor(s):

RESEARCH QUESTION: (Provide evidence that work will be performed at the appropriate academic level)

There are two major types of wind turbines. A horizontal axis wind turbine and a Vertical axis wind turbine. Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) are commonly used. They are far more efficient than vertical axis wind turbines which are the second type of wind turbine. A HAWT has the main rotor shaft and electrical generator mounted at the top of a tower. HAWTs must point into the wind to be able to harness wind energy. Smaller turbines are pointed into the wind by a wind vane arrangement. Larger turbines, such as those used in wind farms, have a wind sensor and a motor which turns them to face into the wind.

A new model of horizontal axis wind turbine can be designed and developed without affecting the efficiency of the machine. This project is all about reducing blade span size of wind turbine so that less area of the land is occupied for installation of wind farm, this also ease the installation and transportation of the machine. Suitable tests will be performed using wind tunnel with different blade profile and diffuser assembly design. The feasibility of the design will be critically assessed.

BACKGROUND / IMPORTANCE OF TOPIC (locate topic in current literature)

Wind energy has the greatest potential renewable energy to meet ever increasing energy demand. Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships. At the end of 2010, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 197 gigawatts (GW). Energy production was 430 TWh, which is about 2.5% of worldwide electricity usage and has doubled in the past three years.

It is the motion of air molecules produced by the irregular heating of the earth’s surface by the sun, thus creating the