Unleashing The Power Of Wind - Innovating energy generation in a wind tunnel

Transcript

Hi I’m Maida Ahmed, and I’m a Grade 7 student from Fort St. John, BC. Right now, climate change is one of our biggest global challenges, and it has created an urgent need for new, creative, sustainable energy sources .Most people see wind tunnels as energy-intensive machines used only for testing. But I wondered : Can I recover the wasted kinetic energy? To find out, I built a prototype wind tunnel and added a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine into the back end of the tunnel. My goal was to create a dual-purpose system that harvests the airflow that usually gets wasted. Using a fan to simulate real-world conditions, my project was a success! I managed to generate an output of 5V and 10mA of clean electricity. Most importantly, I did this without compromising the tunnel’s main function (which is testing objects) This proves that we can transform wasted motion into power. And it’s not just for wind tunnels—think about exhaust fans in bathrooms or ventilation systems. We can turn all that 'lost' motion into renewable electricity.By rethinking how we use airflow.

Background

Growing up in an era defined by the climate crisis, I know how much of a struggle clean energy and climate change are. Through doing this project I hope to raise awareness to fix this problem and present a solution

The problem

The global reliance on non-renewable energy is the primary driver of the current climate crisis. Without access to clean, sustainable energy alternatives, many places continue to produce high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to rising global temperatures, intensified natural disasters, and dangerous levels of pollution.

The solution:

My solution involves designing a multi use wind tunnel designed for aerodynamic testing capturing the kinetic energy using a wind turbine The turbine captures the wasted air and converts it into power. While engineers suggest that wind tunnels are energy consuming systems, my research explores potential ways to recover kinetic energy, using a wind turbine. Wind turbines harvests the wasted motion and converts it into power. So I strategically placed a wind turbine behind the wind tunnel to extract the wasted airflow, and turn it into power.

Hypothesis:

I predict if I place a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine at the back end of a custom-built wind tunnel, then it will capture enough wasted kinetic energy to produce at least 3V of electricity and light up at least 3 LEDs. I predict that this design will demonstrate that wasted motion in industrial airflow systems can be safely repurposed into renewable energy.

Design + research

First, I began by investigating the fundamental principles of aerodynamics and wind tunnels . My goal was to design a wind tunnel capable of producing a laminar flow to analyze the airflow's effects on various objects. Due to the lack of space in the tunnel, I opted for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, as vertical axis wind turbines are more efficient in compact, urban applications. The prototype consists of a wooden enclosure with a test section made of foam board. I positioned a high-powered fan at the exit to pull air from the test section and to push it out as wind, creating a consistent flow of wind that spins the turbine.

Building

Next, I constructed a wooden enclosure that I designed in step 1. After building the enclosure I started building the test section. I lined the bottom and the sides of the enclosure with foam boards. Next I placed the fan inside of the tunnel. Then I added the wind turbine to the back of the enclosure. After I put the top of the enclosure on and started adding the bread board, speed control, anometre, volt metre and amp metre. To ensure accuracy, I installed a series of cardboard tubes to act as flow straighteners creating a laminar flow.

Testing

Lastly, I did my testing using a model dump truck as the test subject. The air straightening cardboard tubes allowed for a for a clear visualization of airflow when smoke was added into the test section. I used an anemetere to precisely monitor the velocity and air flow during the tests. While industrial wind tunnels are known for high power consumption, my objective was to recapture the kinetic energy typically lost. By adding a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, I created a system to extract the "wasted” airflow.

Observations

Testing revealed a clear link between air pressure and energy harvesting. When the air straighteners were blocked, the reduced air flow caused the turbine to slow down, decreasing power to the LEDs. I observed that the turbine could support a small motor, but the voltage decreased. I tested a small light bulb and it was not able to turn on as the load was too large. A critical observation was the wind tunnels effect on the wind . Without the wind tunnel, the air spreads out and loses the force needed to spin the blades. I found that larger objects act as an obstruction, slowing down the wind speed throughout the entire wind tunnel. I was able to produce 5V and 10mA of clean electricity.

Results

The results of this project demonstrates that a small-scale wind tunnel can successfully function as a dual-purpose facility, proving the practicability of energy harvesting in a wind tunnel.

Airflow and Energy Harvesting: Obstructing the flow straighteners led to a significant decrease in turbine rotation and a visible drop in power output to the LEDs. This confirms that the laminar flow section is essential for maximizing the airflow available to the turbine.

Electrical Performance: The prototype successfully generated enough power to operate a small motor. However, a noticeable voltage drop occurred under this load. When a small light bulb was tested, the system was unable to power it due to the bulb load, demonstrating that the current electrical output has specific load limitations.

The Containment Effect: A major finding was the importance of the wind tunnel structure itself. Without the enclosure, the air stream spread rapidly, losing the pressure required to spin the turbine blades. The tunnel acts as a way to keep the air close together to push the wind directly onto the VAWT.

Obstructions: The testing with my dump truck showed that if you have the back of the truck up it creates a blockage effect. This obstruction creates a lot of pressure in the test section that slows the airflow across the entire section, directly reducing energy production

Peak Power Output: Under optimal conditions with an unobstructed chamber and laminar flow, the system produced a consistent output of 5V and 10mA of clean electricity.

Conclusion

My hypothesis was correct, as the wind tunnel successfully converted the wasted motion and turned it into power, producing an output of 5V and 10mA. This was enough power to power three LEDs, proving the practicability of harvesting wasted motion within the tunnel. While I aimed to power the fan with the energy I generate from the turbine, my current design did not reach a high enough voltage required to power the motor.

An important observation was that air intake directly impacts electrical output; blocking off the intake caused the voltage to drop to 4.9V and the amps stopped being produced and dropped to zero. In future versions of my project, I would use smaller tubes for the air straightener to achieve a more precise laminar flow, as well as ensure all gaps between the pipes are sealed to maximize air flow once it reaches the inside of the wind tunnel.

The most important thing I learned from my project is that this project is universal. It can be applied to any system that produces wasted airflow, from large-scale industrial ventilation to city-wide exhaust fans. This is very important as many buildings in the world have exhaust fans that waste a lot of air, so adding a small vertical axis wind turbine behind them can help spin and generate clean energy to power homes.

Future versions will focus on three key advancements. First, airflow will be optimized by replacing cardboard straighteners with sealed PVC piping to eliminate leakage and maximize laminar flow and velocity. Second, the system will integrate solar panels to power the induction fans, achieving a carbon-neutral, self-sustaining operation. Finally, the prototype will be scaled into a larger outdoor facility. This industrial-scale version will be capable of testing the aerodynamics of commercial vehicles while simultaneously capturing high volumes of kinetic energy to supplement local power grids, turning wasted air into a viable source of renewable energy.

I would like to express a giant thanks to my father for his amazing support throughout this project. His assistance in safely monitoring me during the building process of the wind tunnel to make sure nothing goes wrong, and his dedication of time and resources were essential to bringing my design to life. I would also like to thank the regional organizers and sponsors for providing me with the incredible opportunity to attend the CWSF. Finally, a huge thank you to my older brother Taha Ahmed for believing in me during this process.

Reaserch:

How does a Wind Tunnel work?

Dymotte

https://airshaper.com/blog/how-does-a-wind-tunnel-work

What is Laminar Flow? Ansys: https://www.ansys.com/simulation-topics/what-is-laminar-flow

Laminar flow Definition & Facts Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/laminar-flow

Laminar-flow wind tunnel experiments - NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS): https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19910014823

How Do Wind Turbines Work?: https://www.energy.gov/cmei/systems/how-do-wind-turbines-work

Types of Wind Tunnels and How They Work 2026: https://www.tytorobotics.com/blogs/articles/types-of-wind-tunnels?srsltid=AfmBOoqiqOPZygpZqZidCno6x58U7JnD6IzLDP64BBL9ZIPkFEgCIVkp

Mach Number: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/mach.html

What Are Wind Tunnels? (Grades K-4): https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-are-wind-tunnels-grades-k-4/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1051200421000968 | Request PDF

Request PDF | On Apr 29, 2021, Abdul Rahman Al-Salehi published https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1051200421000968 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01681699110012

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