Mechanical Engineering, Gearbox, Gears and Drive Train
Areas of Expertise
- Fluid mechanics, thermal sciences, machine design and optimization, simulation and visualization, advanced manufacturing, dynamics and control, and micro/nano-systems and materials
- Wind power park systems
- Siting
- Stochastic wind forecasting
- Field monitoring of aerodynamic, electrical and mechanical performance
- Electrical grid connection and issues
- Turbine spacing optimization and cluster performance
- Terrain and/or turbine interference
- Health monitoring of turbines (non-destructive evaluation)
- Cluster induced turbulence and its effect on cluster performance
- Off- peak aerodynamic design performance of the cluster
- Ice accretion, dirt and bug accumulation/impact on performance and blade loading
- Environmental issues – birds, visual issues and noise
- Wind tunnel testing of clusters of turbines in the atmospheric boundary layer with gusts
- Design of turbine parks for severe weather conditions – tornadoes, thermal cycles
- Individual wind turbine systems
- Aerodynamic design of turbine blades, towers
- Control systems design for non-unidirectional wind\
- Testing and prediction of aerodynamic loads and performance
- Material reliability and fatigue of components
- Design, testing and optimization of composite components
- Power train/mechanical design – gearbox ,tower, generator
- Wind tunnel testing of individual turbines and components
Special Facilities
- Aerodynamic/atmospheric boundary layer wind and gust tunnel
- Tornado/microburst simulator
- Health monitoring and inspection
- Micro-mechanics and composite structure testing laboratory
- Experimental tools for damage evolution and fatigue lifecycle estimates
- Anechoic chamber for noise testing and mitigation
- Computational tools for aerodynamics design performance and simulation
- Gear train noise and vibration measurements, modeling, and reduction strategies; spectral content of gear meshing and harmonics; influence of drive train component misalignment
- Evaluating new markets; integrating wind power with the hydrogen/ammonia economy (conversion and storage); compressed air storage, wind generator performance models; site and wind resource assessment; data acquisition systems for monitoring performance; evaluating performance of compared to rated/installed capacity; Evaluating losses in individual components; case studies (economics, feasibility, performance, environmental impact); alternate technologies
Centers of Excellence
Areas of Expertise
- Multi-body dynamics
- Fatigue and fracture mechanics
- Virtual proto-typing
- Mechanisms and robotics
- Nanomechanics
- Finite element methods
- Probabilistic fracture mechanics
- Contact problems with friction and adhesion
- Wind turbine and wind farm performance
- Wind power prediction at different time scales
- Wind turbine monitoring and diagnostics
- Prediction of extreme event in wind, equipment, and electric grid
- Wind power integration
- Wind farm design
- Wind farm operations and management
- Innovation in wind energy
Centers of Excellence
Areas of Expertise
- Industrial Technology (IT) faculty members with expertise in mechanical engineering, materials engineering and metallurgical engineering
