Department - Author 1

Electrical Engineering Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Electrical Engineering

Date

6-2011

Primary Advisor

Dale Dolan

Abstract/Summary

A wind tunnel with a 0.5 HP motor was purchased by Cal Poly Electrical Engineering Department from Hampden for $16,000. It can only simulate winds of up to 10 MPH. The tunnel has a manual dial that controls the wind speed. It also measures the voltage and current output with an analog measure display. This wind tunnel was expensive and unfortunately cannot achieve very high wind speeds. For this reason, a similar wind tunnel with more potential and with a smaller budget was proposed to be built for use in the Sustainable Energy Lab. The new wind tunnel that was built is able to simulate winds of up to 45 MPH and has an LCD display for the measurements of wind speed, voltage and current. This whole project was done with a budget of less than $6,000 and used mostly salvaged and recycled materials.

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