Pushing the pedal on clean power

Techniques for designing Formula One racing cars will be used to rev up the performance of wind turbines in built-up areas such as towns and cities, where the air flow is more unpredictable.

Engineers from the University of Leeds have teamed up with Slipstream Energy to develop advanced wind turbines that generate clean, renewable power more efficiently – using computational fluid dynamics, critical to achieving faster times on the racing track.

Their earlier research, led by Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian, shows that standard propeller-type turbines often seen in large wind farms do not perform as well in urban areas, where the turbulent air blows over and around buildings.

Thanks to a £100,000 grant from Yorkshire Forward, the team now plans to design and build a full-scale prototype of new wind turbine technology. It should be available to ‘green minded’ businesses, developers and architects from next year.

“We believe this is a business with real potential for future success,” says Professor Pourkashanian. “Computational fluid dynamics uses complex algorithms to perform millions of calculations that simulate the flow of fluids or air across surfaces,” he explains. “The computer can then draw up a simulation so that the pattern of air flow can be seen on screen.”

There is a strong and growing market demand for clean power generated on site, according to Philip Wilson, managing director of Slipstream. “This grant will allow us to work with world-class experts to build efficiency improving features into our products.”

Photo 2: The sail-shaped towers of the Bahrain World Trade Centre feature three giant wind turbines.