Development of an Interactive Remote iLab for a Wind Energy System

Abstract

There is an ongoing campaign globally to reduce the carbon footprint by migrating from fossil-based to renewable energy sources. In particular, wind energy use is increasing due to advancements in technology. Accordingly, the materials used in wind energy education need to be advanced to better and cheaper ones. An interactive remote wind energy laboratory (lab) was developed in this study. The lab enables remote experimentation via the internet about the variables on which wind power output depends, including; wind speed, temperature, humidity, number of turbine blades, and pitch angle. The lab setup consisted of; wind fan, wind speed sensor, miniature wind turbine, NI ELVIS II prototyping board, and Arduino microcontroller. The sample results and wind power curve generated were found to be similar to those from hands-on experiments. The lab can be used for demonstrations, in circumstances of inadequate wind power hands-on experiments, and where there are many students.