Gary Le, being an advocate of renewable energy, was interested in learning more about viable energies for the future. He joined Professor Wang’s 2010 Wind Energy Team, hoping to learn proper engineering and researching methods. The experience from this project was crucial to Gary’s pursuit of a career in sustainable energy, as he learned the complexities that come with designing, fabricating, and testing a wind turbine and the importance of being resourceful to overcome complications. Gary hopes to find a career in the field of environmental engineering where he can apply his knowledge and contribute to society in its pursuit of sustainable living.

Kersey Manliclic was looking to gain engineering experience within the field of sustainable energy and was fortunate enough to find an open spot with Prof. Wang’s wind energy project. Apart from the knowledge learned regarding wind turbine technology, the overall experience of conducting research helped him learn to manage the challenges of staying within a budget, securing materials, and preparing presentations of results. Kersey hopes to further expand upon his experience by joining research projects on other forms of renewable energy and someday working in a field combining engineering with earth science.

Duy Nam Ton joined Prof. Wang’s wind energy project with the intent of practicing his love of computer aided design and machine theory while obtaining some background knowledge on the subject of renewable energy. Towards the end of the year, what he found most valuable about the research was the leadership experience and seeing an engineering project progress through the cycle of design, fabrication, and testing. Duy hopes to take what he has learned from UC Irvine and apply it to an engineering career closer to his home town.

Traditional horizontal-axis wind turbines are usually designed for areas with naturally high-speed winds, but exhibit low performance when under low-speed wind. Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) provide an alternative that can be used in low-wind conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of VAWTs for harvesting wind energy from slow-moving wind by considering various blade designs. Field testing was conducted to investigate the effects of blade number and configuration and determine if it were possible to produce greater efficiency for power generation than the recirculation effect seen in traditional Savonius turbines. The results suggested that the power generated is sufficient to meet the energy demand if implemented appropriately.

Yun Wang Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Fossil fuels are the major energy source supporting the rapid industrialization and economic growth in the past century. However, it is clear that they cannot sustain a global economy. Wind energy provides an alternative source for renewable energy. This paper investigates the performance of vertical wind turbines developed by the Wind Energy senior design project team in 2009–2010. The study has revealed the dependence of efficiencies on several factors, such as the blade configuration, and explored the optimal wind turbine design. The encouraging results provide both insights into modern wind turbine design and guidelines for future UCI Wind Energy teams. In 2010–2011, the team has developed a larger-scale wind turbine and is planning to install it over the Engineering Tower.