Master's thesis project

Field Testing the Effects of Low Reynolds Number on the Power Performance of the Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center Small Wind Turbine

Summary:

John’s thesis project was completed in 2020 to fulfill a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The project entailed field testing a 3.5 kW wind turbine to analyze its power performance for control system development. The testing occurred at the Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center and was advised by Dr. Patrick Lemieux. The paper was presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 2022 SciTech Forum.

Links:

Cal Poly SLO digital commons thesis paper:

Cunningham, J., “Field Testing the Effects of Low Reynolds Number on the Power Performance of the Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center Small Wind Turbine”, Master’s Thesis, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 2020, https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2020.152

AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum presentation:

Cunningham, J., and Lemieux, P., “Study of Low Reynolds Number Effects on Small Wind Turbine Performance”, AIAA 2022 SciTech Forum, January 2022, https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-1149

Photo album:

Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center wind turbine — Cal Poly Wind Power Research Center

john — John Cunningham behind the control box

Dr. Lemieux working on Nacelle — Project advisor Dr. Patrick Lemieux working inside the wind turbine nacelle

team effort — Fellow graduate students Ryan Zhan and Luke Costello manning the controls

lowering the wind turbine tower — Wind turbine tower lowering procedure

raising wind turbine — Luke Costello and Dr. Patrick Lemieux preparing the wind turbine tower raising procedure

turkeys at the wind site — A pack of turkeys with the wind turbine in the background

Wind turbine in active yaw mode, automatically aligning itself with the direction of the wind

(Last updated: 2024-02-18)