UTWind

End of Semester Accomplishments Update

🌬️ Aerodynamics 🌀 • Selected the H-Rotor VAWT configuration after evaluating both H-Rotor and Helical designs and identifying the strongest aerodynamic performance • Locked in the full turbine geometry to meet competition swept-area constraints, including aspect ratio (height & radius), solidity, chord length, and strut geometry • Determined the optimal operating conditions for maximum power at 9 m/s, including pitch angle, tip speed ratio (TSR), and RPM • Finalized the airfoil selection: FFA-W3-241 💻 Control Systems 🧪 • Co-hosted Arduino workshop with IEEE • Launching new web-app for real-time data display • Programmed vibration sensors • Simulating MPPT for maximum power output ⚙️ Mechanical and Manufacturing 🔧 • Hosted CAD and 3D printing workshops • Modular brake unit design in progress • Tested generator starting torque • Modifying PET bottle recycling Recreator to prevent overheat • Demonstrated modelling process of turbine blades ⚡ Power Systems ✨ • Completed LTSpice and Altium onboarding • Successfully tested the generator and isolator (repaired) • Researched and narrowed down converter options for the team’s most comprehensive power system design to date • Selected the optimal e-load for upcoming power system testing 🌍 Sustainability ♻️ • Launched a new wildlife monitoring project to detect bats with ultrasonic sensors, preventing collisions with the turbine • Started research on composite blade manufacturing and planning for natural composite blades • Planning tensile testing on 3D-printed recycled PET samples to collect data for simulation and allow future use in the turbine 🤝 Exec Team 📈 • Recruited 130+ new members, making this our largest intake in UTWind history • Successfully applied for and received over $4,000 in CPSIF funding (the most the team has ever received through CPSIF) • Secured over $6,000 in SEF funding for power systems testing, enabling purchase of critical testing equipment (DC power source, oscilloscope, e-load) • Created the new 2025 UTWind Sponsorship Package • Represented UTWind at the Dean’s Dinner 2025 as one of only two design teams showcased • Engaged 30+ high school students in discussions on wind energy and SDG 11 through the EWB Youth Program