Wind Resource Assessment for the Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering (DICE) building at the University of Alberta North Campus

• Author / Creator

  Gordon, Hermes E

• The implementation of small wind turbines in the urban environment with the intention of producing energy in high demand areas (cities), and reduce carbon footprint has been met generally with less than successful results. . The primary challenge in these projects is to understand the wind field, specially the turbulence structure around the buildings, which is characterized by large recirculation zones and flow separation. However, one possible advantage of the wind field around buildings is the concentration effect that could increase the wind power density compared to rural settlements. This thesis studies the potential of harvesting wind energy at the Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering (DICE) building at University of Alberta North Campus. In order to conduct the wind resource assessment wind data were collected at the edge of the building with three wind monitors and one ultrasonic anemometer. Data were recorded with a constructed datalogger, which allowed us to reduce equipment cost. Data of the month of February was processed and different statistical tools were used, including daily and hourly mean averages, wind roses, and Rayleigh wind probability distribution to determine the main wind direction and most probable wind speeds. Turbulence intensity was also computed for 10 min. and 1 min. averaging time, and the difference between the two approaches was studied. One minute autocorrelations were computed for the windiest and most turbulent hours; and the integral time and length scale were determined based on Taylor’s hypothesis. These calculations approximated the size of the turbulent elements present in the urban environment. The DICE building presented higher wind speeds than the Tory building, and has a wind power density comparable to coastal areas. However the turbulence intensity is extremely high compared to the open ground and coastal zones. There was a small reduction in the turbulence intensity when using 1 min. averaging time, showing that 10 min. gives an upper estimation for turbulence intensity which can be used as a conservative approach when assessing a location for potential wind energy harvesting.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Urban Wind Power
  • Urban Turbulence
  • Wind Resource Assessment
  • Wind Power Density

• Graduation date

  Spring 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3NG4H69B

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.