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This thesis consists of a detailed analysis of different blade testing methods and improvements to a novel concept for tri-axial testing of large wind turbine blades. As the blades are one of the most critical components of the wind turbine, they have to be tested in order to ensure that their specifications are consistent with the actual performance of the blade. It must be demonstrated that the blade can withstand both the ultimate loads and the fatigue loads to which the blade is expected to be subjected during its design service life. There are basically two types of blade testing: static testing and fatigue testing. Testing of the blades statically and dynamically helps in improving the designs and the manufacturing processes. This thesis has two objectives. The first objective is to document the assumptions, calculations and results of an initial sizing of a bell crank system for testing blades 50m, 60m and 70m long. The second objective of this report is to document the modeling of one of the alternatives to bell crank system in SolidWorks. The thesis ends with conclusions and suggestions for future work. An advanced blade testing method which can be used for large wind turbine blades is developed and so are the system requirements. The concept is used to excite the blade in flapwise and edgewise direction simultaneously. The flap motion of the blade is caused by BREX resonant technology, which is already used by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado, and edgewise motion is delivered by the use of two inclined hydraulic actuators and linear guide rail system is used to move the inclined actuators in the flapwise direction along the blade motion. The hydraulic system and linear guide rail requirements are analyzed and discussed. The design is discussed and analyzed in detail proving it to be feasible. The cost estimation is done for the design. It is recommended for implementation as it will serve as an efficient way of testing large wind turbine blades.

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Inputs of the major element potassium into the ocean from rivers and on-axis high temperature hydrothermal systems have likely varied on geological timescales. Variable uptake of potassium into lavas altered in low-temperature, off-axis, hydrothermal systems could keep the potassium concentration in seawater within the narrow range (~9.5 to 11 mmol L-1) observed in the Phanerozoic. To test this hypothesis a better understanding of the timing of alteration, and of the role of changing environmental conditions on seawater/basalt reactions is required. The age of 69 samples of the secondary, potassium-rich, phyllosilicate mineral celadonite from lavas in the Troodos ophiolite were determined using Rb-Sr radiometric dating to test whether potassium uptake occurs within a specific time interval. Measurements used tandem quadrupole ICP-MS/MS. Combined with published radiometric ages the dataset revealed regional differences in the duration of celadonite formation in the Troodos ophiolite lavas. In one area, where significant hydrothermal sediments were deposited on the lavas, celadonite formed as much as ~40 Myr after the crust accreted, whereas in an area with rare hydrothermal sediments celadonite formation was largely limited to the first ~20 Myr after crustal accretion. These differences in duration of celadonite formation in the upper oceanic crust are interpreted as reflecting differences in distribution of hydrothermal sediments that act as a source of labile Fe that is needed for celadonite formation. To test if there are significant variations of duration and timing of celadonite formation on various scales in the upper oceanic crust I measured the first in-situ Rb-Sr ages of celadonite in lavas from DSDP and ODP drill cores. These ages show that ~80% of celadonite formed from pervasive fluid flow within the first ~20 Myr after the oceanic crust accreted. All celadonite ages roughly correlate with the cumulative heat flow removed from the oceanic lithosphere in the same time interval. In combination the >100 new celadonite ages presented here provide strong evidence that most celadonite forms in the first ~20 Myr after crustal accretion and environmental conditions could be significant in controlling potassium uptake. To determine whether the potassium sink from seawater into altered seafloor lavas varied over time I compile a dataset of the potassium content of lavas from DSDP and ODP drill cores (0 to 180 Myr age range). Estimates of the average potassium content of individual holes reveal that this varies with age. However, holes of similar age show a similar magnitude of variability to that which occurs over this time. To investigate the source of the variability of potassium in altered lavas I modelled the effects of bottom seawater temperature and pH using PHREEQC. The models indicate that if the fluid is in equilibrium with K-feldspar, Na-beidellite and calcite, an increase in bottom seawater temperature and/or decrease in pH would lead to the potassium concentration in the off-axis fluid to increase significantly. This emphasizes the need for future studies to investigate feedback mechanisms between low-temperature hydrothermal alteration in response to changing environmental conditions. / Graduate / 2022-07-12

<p>  </p> <p>In this study, we aimed to explore the potential of integrating wind turbines into tall buildings to harness wind energy in urban areas. Advanced computer simulations will be used to analyze the complex wind patterns and turbulence around tall buildings. We will also study the optimization of wind turbine placement to maximize energy production. We focus on two types of wind turbines, the savonius and a modified savonius, using the Myring formula. We evaluated their performance in turbulent urban areas using computational fluid dynamics simulations. The simulations will also help us understand the wind flow behavior around tall buildings, informing wind turbine placement optimization.</p> <p>Our findings contribute to the understanding of urban wind energy production. This may lead to further advancements in wind turbine design and application in urban environments, promoting sustainable and clean energy production in densely populated areas.</p> <p>We also evaluate the economic feasibility of wind power as an energy source and its potential for commercial applications. Our study's insights are significant for wind energy research, urban planning, and sustainable energy production in cities.</p> <p>To achieve our objectives, we will use state-of-the-art computational tools such as the ANSYS Fluent Student software and the Steady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (SRANS) K-ε model and K-ω SST models for simulating wind flow around tall buildings.</p> <p>In summary, the goal of this research is to develop a methodology for integrating wind turbines into tall urban buildings to harness wind energy potential. This will contribute to the understanding of urban wind energy production and its economic feasibility for commercial applications.</p>

As competition grows among manufacturing companies, greater emphasis has recently been placed on product aesthetics and decreasing the product development time. This is promoting and standardizing widespread use of sculptured surface styling within product design. Therefore, industries are looking for high efficiency machining strategies for sculptured surface machining (SSM). Many researchers have produced various methods in tool path generation for SSM. Five-axis curvature matched machining (CM2) is the most efficient. With the widespread use of 5-axis mill in industries, CM2 is a better solution for improving the machining efficiency for product concept models. CM2 has very good performance for global machining of single patch surface or a quilt of simple sculptured surface patches. But when CM2 is used to generate tool paths for global machining of a large region of complex sculptured surface such as the top or side skins of a vehicle, there will be some limitations, that is, the performance will be influenced greatly in some steep areas where the lead angle of the tool becomes larger to match the curvature or avoid gouging. Larger lead angles mean smaller effective curvatures at the leading edge of the tool bottom where it contacts the part surfaces. Therefore, the density of CM2 tool path is very high in these steep regions. By setting a smaller upper limit for the lead angle, the density of tool path will not be very high in the steep regions, but there will be some uncut materials. This thesis focuses on how to determine the uncut or rework areas of the previous CM2 and how to define the boundary of these regions. Strategies for generating more efficiency CM2 tool paths are also discussed. These methods will be tested by applying finish global machining to a one-fourth scale Ford GT model.

Proper positioning of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) components influences the functionality of the device, especially in devices where the motion is in the range of hundreds of micrometers. There are two main obstacles to positioning: off-axis displacement, and position determination. This work studies four large-displacement devices, their axial and transverse stiffness, and piezoresistive response. Methods for improving the device characteristics are described. The folded-beam suspension, small X-Bob, large X-Bob and double X-Bob were characterized using non-dimensional metrics that measure the displacement with regard to the size of the device, and transverse stiffness with regard to axial stiffness. The stiffness in each direction was determined using microprobes to induce displacement, and microfabricated force gauges to determine the applied force. The large X-Bob was optimized, increasing the transverse stiffness metric by 67%. Four-point resistance testing and microprobes were used to determine the piezoresistive response of the devices. The piezoresistive response of the X-Bob was maximized using an optimization routine. The resulting piezoresistive response was over seven times larger than that of the initial design. Piezoresistive encoders for ratcheting actuation of large-displacement MEMS are introduced. Four encoders were studied and were found to provide information on the performance of the ratcheting actuation system at frequencies up to 920 Hz. The PMT encoder produced unique signals corresponding to distinct ideal and non-ideal operation of the ratchet wheel actuation system. Encoders may be useful for future applications which require position determination.