Engineering Contest Asked Students to Design, Test Wind-Energy System
07/12/2016
Media contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – A team of UMass Lowell students placed second in a national engineering competition that challenged them to design and test a concept for a wind-energy system that could be used in real-world situations.
Known as “Team WindHawk” – a play on the name of UMass Lowell’s sports teams, the River Hawks – the engineering and business majors were invited to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition 2016 after the agency reviewed UMass Lowell’s project proposal for the contest. As a result, the agency awarded the team $19,961 through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory so the students could cultivate their concept for the competition. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center then awarded the students an additional $13,594 in seed money for their project.
The competition challenged students to devise a concept for a wind-energy system that could supply electricity to users living off the grid. The students then were asked to develop a business plan and identify a prospective site for their product before building a reduced-scale model of it that demonstrated its viability. The UMass Lowell team chose to design a dual wind-turbine energy solution that could be used to meet the needs of U.S. soldiers stationed in countries such as Afghanistan where they may not have consistent access to electricity.
The competition drew teams from colleges and universities across North America. The final presentations of the students’ projects were made during the annual American Wind Energy Association’s Windpower Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.
“The wind competition was the best experience of my college years. It taught us the importance of teamwork, communication and meeting quality standards and deadlines, things you don’t normally get to do inside a classroom,” said Team WindHawk member Christian Bain of Reading, who plans to pursue a career in the renewable energy sector.
Team WindHawk designed two types of wind-energy systems that could be used by the Army. The first consists of an inflatable kite with dual wing-mounted turbines that could produce up to 6 kilowatts of electrical power. The kite, which measures 13 feet wide, would be tethered to the ground with a 1,640-foot-long cable and could be deployed or stowed in less than a half-hour. The second system is a network of ground turbines with a combined output of 4 kilowatts of electricity. Each ground turbine would be mounted on a lightweight, portable truss tower.
The students received guidance from UMass Lowell faculty and researchers from the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, who work together through the Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers (HEROES) initiative. The partnership seeks to improve the performance and protection of U.S. troops.
The team also benefited from the expertise of UMass Lowell faculty and researchers involved in the university’s Center for Wind Energy and the WindSTAR Industry/University Cooperative Research Center. These national ventures are working to advance the science behind wind-turbine systems and the wind-energy industry overall.
“Our students as a team really excelled in integrating the technical aspects of the project with the business plan and presented them successfully to the judges,” said team adviser Christopher Hansen, an assistant professor in UMass Lowell’s Mechanical Engineering Department who works in WindSTAR and the Center for Wind Energy.
Other faculty advisers included Prof. Christopher Niezrecki, chairman of UMass Lowell’s Mechanical Engineering Department; Mechanical Engineering Associate Prof. David Willis; Plastics Engineering Associate Prof. Stephen Johnston; Michael Darish, a faculty member in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department; and Tom O’Donnell, director of UMass Lowell’s Innovation Hub and a visiting professor of management and entrepreneurship. Offering technical advice to the team along the way were Army Capt. Christopher O’Brien and advisers from Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center and Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
Guidance and sample materials for designing the inflatable kite were provided by Federal-Fabrics-Fibers Inc. (3F) of Lowell.
The students developed their project in UMass Lowell’s College of Engineering Makerspace, which offers both space and technology to promote collaboration in engineering and other sciences, 3D printers, stations for electronics and machining, whiteboards and conference areas.
Team WindHawk members and their fields of study are:
- Athol – Noah Meunier, business administration
- Beverly – Zachary Anderson, electrical engineering
- Burlington – Nikunj Patel, electrical engineering
- Framingham – Evan Copeland, mechanical engineering, and William Hallissey, electrical engineering
- Haverhill – Kyle Stuart, electrical engineering
- Lowell – Andy Lay, plastics engineering; Matthew Siopes, electrical engineering; and Maxwell McCabe and Sarittick San, plastics engineering
- Medford – Seth Dabney, electrical engineering
- Newton – Daniel Paikowsky, business administration
- Peabody – Linda Pratto, mechanical engineering, and Sarah Sirois, business administration
- Reading – Christian Bain, business administration
- Springfield – Patrick Anderson, mechanical engineering
- Tewksbury – Christopher Illsley, mechanical engineering
- Londonderry, N.H. – Dana Pierce, mechanical engineering
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