First Advisor

Raúl Bayoán Cal

Date of Award

5-20-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Mechanical Engineering and University Honors

Department

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Subjects

Vertical axis wind turbines, Wind power -- Oregon -- Portland -- Measurement -- Case studies

DOI

10.15760/honors.256

Abstract

Wind energy is a growing sector of renewables, and small wind is a key area for growth. In Portland, Oregon small scale vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) will be installed on the Tilikum Crossing bridge. Prior to turbine installation, a wind resource assessment was conducted to provide details about the wind environment turbines will placed in. For seven months, 12 instruments collected wind and weather data for analysis. Data was analyzed between different locations and over various time scales. Trends pointed to wind dominantly coming from the South and also frequently from the North, generally following the channel of the Willamette River. Month to month, wind speeds fluctuated minimally; however, day to day, wind speeds increase significantly during the daytime hours. For several measuring stations, close proximity to a structure caused reductions in speed compared to stations further away. On the bridge, high levels of turbulence are present, but wind speeds tend to be very low. Based on these findings it will be difficult to generate power from VAWTs because turbines require higher wind speeds.

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Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/17420

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