Wind & Marine Energy Systems & StructuresAcademic Partners

Oliver Tulloch

Email - oliver.tulloch@strath.ac.uk

Start Date - October 2015

Degree - MEng Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath

Research Bio

Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) utilises tethered devices to extract energy from the wind. This research focuses on using AWE systems for electricity production. The motivation behind AWE devices is to provide a low-cost alternative to the traditional horizontal axis wind turbine. With a lower cost it is envisaged that AWE devices will be able to access higher altitudes where stronger more consistent winds can be found. Over recent years the AWE industry has grown with a few larger (100kW+) prototypes beginning to appear. However, there are a wide variety of unique designs that have been developed. Research is needed to establish which of these designs is the most promising for different applications e.g. utility scale/small scale. This research is to investigate a rotary kite AWE system that has been developed by Windswept and Interesting Ltd (W&I). The aim is to progress the systems design by focusing on its safe and efficient operation and to assess the systems scalability.

Additional Information - Associate member IMechE