Research

This project investigates two aspects of ancillary services by wind turbine generators. Experiments are performed to create custom power electronic generator controls and operating strategies to enhance the capability of renewable energy infrastructure. It is funded by the EPRC and PSERC.

This project investigates the technology required for deploying wireless sensor nodes onto wind turbine blades, and includes the design of network protocols, hardware, and applications. The project uses the SpectraQuest laboratory scale turbine for proof-of-concept evaluation and prototype deployment and validation.

Finite element models of permanent magnet generators are designed for large scale wind turbine application. For novel designs, traditional validation using numerical results from analytical models is not always accurate. To validate the finite element software itself, a 400 W permanent magnet machine is characterized as a generator experimentally for comparison to the numerical results from the finite element model of the machine.