Virginia Tech University 2020

Team Name:

Wind Turbine Team at Virginia Tech

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Blacksburg, Virginia

Why this Competition?

The Wind Turbine Team at Virginia Tech is happy to be participating in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2020 Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) because it gives students the ability to learn about renewable energy through hands-on experience. In addition, the competition supports the team members’ shared value of caring for our planet and using sustainable practices to leave a lasting home for future generations.

Project Description

The team is designing and constructing a horizontal axis turbine, building upon the team’s design from the last two CWCs by improving individual turbine components while maintaining focus on a systems-level approach to the turbine testing objectives.

Game Plan

Though the team performed well at past competitions, they have identified areas of improvement and are working toward implementing several design changes to this year’s turbine.

The Wind Turbine Team at Virginia Tech is split into subteams. Three of these—mechanical, aerodynamics, and power systems and controls—are designing the turbine. The testing portion of the design will use optimization programs for the blades, while focusing on building a safer and more robust hub.

The siting/business subteam is using their experience from designing a 100-megawatt (MW) wind farm on Wills Ridge for the 2018 and 2019 CWCs to guide their plans for a 100-MW wind farm in Eastern Colorado. They have made great progress with the help of detailed research, wind farm design and optimization software, and project funding models.

Team Strengths

The strength of the team lies in its members and leadership. The Wind Turbine Team allows students to channel their passion for renewable energy into a hands-on project and, as a result, the number of extremely qualified and enthusiastic students wanting to be a part of this team grows every year. In addition to having qualified members, the team benefits from subteam leaders who are all experienced, knowledgeable, and passionate about leading project teams.

Team Hurdles

One of the team’s goals, in addition to performing well at the competition, is to give each member of the team a valuable experience. With 35 team members, it can be difficult to ensure that each member holds a meaningful role on the team. Unfortunately, trying to coordinate all of the team members during the initial design phase has put the team behind schedule. While the time investment in the design phase is worthwhile, it has resulted in less time remaining to test different aspects of the system.

Competition Objectives

The Wind Turbine Team at Virginia Tech’s primary objective for the competition is to win first place overall. To achieve this objective, the team has emphasized improving the structural integrity of the turbine system as a whole and added redundant systems to ensure that they can address all tasks successfully. If they can successfully complete the safety task and cut-out task, the team believes they will be well-positioned to win the 2020 competition.

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Facebook: @WindTurbineTeamVT

Twitter: @VirginiaTechWTT

Instagram: @windturbineteamvt

This content was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy by the team.