Wind Energy Center Reports

Design And Installation Of A Heating System For A Solar And Windpower Heated Home

Wells, Ward Dyer — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:59:00 PDT

This report briefly outlines the progress to date of Solar Habitat One and the New England Wind Furnace Project at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The design and installation of the solar and windpower heating systems of this combined project are discussed in detail. A summary of planned future modifications and suggested improvements is presented.

Design And Installation Of Heating System For Umass Solar Habitat I

Wells, Ward Dyer et al. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:58 PDT

This report contains details of design principles and installation of the solar and windpowered heating systems installed in UMass Solar Habitat I. Included are a complete specification of materials and operating instructions. A summary of potential modifications and improvements to the system is also included.

A Two Dimensional Analysis Of Vertical Axis Windmills

Van Dusen, E. S. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:56 PDT

Wind Turbine Tower Wake Interface

Turnberg, J. et al. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:55 PDT

Wind Tunnel Test Program Of A 200-Watt, 12-Volt Wind Generator System. Final Report

Stoddard, Forrest S. et al. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:53 PDT

In March, 1974, a small wind generator was purchased under the Mark Swann Account for the Energy Alternatives Program of the University of Massachusetts Engineering Department. The wind generator (Reference 1) was acquired as a demonstration, teaching, and research tool, and serves as atest stand in the University of Massachusetts Open Jet Wind Tunnel Facility (Reference 2). During the time period 15 March to 15 July, 1974, the wind generator system was fully tested and calibrated i n the wind tunnel facility , and has been used since then as a valuable teaching and research aid i n the Energy Alternatives Program. An additional test hub was manufactured in April, 1974, and several model blades were run during a practical windpower course offered through the School of Continuing Education on the Amherst campus. These model blades were constructed by the class members primarily as a teaching technique, and were never intended to be rigorous wind tunnel models. However, the results of that program did amplify observations concerning small scale wind generators (see Part 8: Conclusions and Observations). During the Fa1 1 and Spring semesters, 1974-1975, two graduate engineering courses were offered in the Civil, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Departments, on Windpower Systems Engineering, as part of the Energy Alternatives Program. The wind tunnel test experience with the model rotors served as valuable background and demonstration for the courses. Since then, further blade performance research has been accomplished in the wind tunnel facility under National Science Foundation sponsorship (NSF Grant AER-00603).

Structural Dynamics, Stability And Control Of High Aspect Ratio Wind Turbines

Stoddard, Forrest S. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:52 PDT

Discussion Of Momentum Theory For Windmills

Stoddard, Forrest S. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:51 PDT

Instrumental and Initial Experimental Testing of Solar Habitat I. Revised

Socha, L. S. et al. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:50 PDT

This report presents a description of the analytical and experimental procedures used to determine the performance of all subsystems and models for Solar Habitat I. It includes a description of the instrumentation necessary for evaluating all subsystems and models and the corresponding test methods used. Experimental test data is presented and compared with the results based on previously developed analytical models.

Instrumental and Initial Experimental Testing of Solar Habitat I

Socha, L. S. et al. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:48 PDT

Wind Turbine Design, Performance, And Economic Analysis

Sexton, James H. — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:58:47 PDT

This paper is an investigation of the economic feasibility of small scale (1 to 70 kw) wind energy conversion systems (WECS). It can be shown that the wind system productivity and therefore the relative cost of the product which it produces is completely dependent on the wind regime under consideration. The mean wind speed, standard deviation, and wind profile are the most significant parameters to be used in the investigation of cost of product from a wind system. The purpose of this work is not to find an optimum wind system, but to give the reader enough information to make an informed decision as to whether or not a wind system configuration could meet the particular need under consideration; the wind system appropriate to a residential home owner is quite different from that for a dairy farmer, for example. The decision ultimately boils down to the cost of usable energy, i.e., cents/kwhr of those kwhrs thatcan be used. Various wind machines will be designed and priced. They will then be superimposed onto different wind regimes modeled by the Weibull distribution for a first approximation of the cost of product at that site using that machine. It will be clear that the same machine will have different cost effectiveness at different sites, and that the cost-ofuseful-energy-product will vary, site-to-site, for the same machine.