Feasibility Study of Micro-Wind Turbines for Powering Wireless Sensors on a Cable-Stayed Bridge

Jong-Woong Park, Hyung-Jo Jung, Hongki Jo and Billie F. Spencer
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Jong-Woong Park: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701, Korea
Hyung-Jo Jung: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701, Korea
Hongki Jo: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana and Champaign, IL 61801, USA
Billie F. Spencer: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana and Champaign, IL 61801, USA

Energies, 2012, vol. 5, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: In this study, the feasibility of using micro-wind turbines to power wireless sensors on a cable-stayed bridge is comprehensively investigated. To this end, the wind environment around a bridge onto which a turbine is installed is examined, as is the power consumption of a wireless sensor. Feasible alternators and rotors are then carefully selected to make an effective small wind generator (known as a micro-wind turbine). Using the three specially selected micro-wind turbines, a series of experiments was conducted to find the turbine best able to generate the largest amount of power. Finally, a horizontal-axis micro-wind turbine with a six-blade rotor was combined with a wireless sensor to validate experimentally its actual power-charging capability. It is demonstrated that the micro-wind turbine can generate sufficient electricity to power a wireless sensor under moderate wind conditions.

Keywords: micro-wind turbine; wind power; wireless sensor; structural health monitoring; energy harvesting; wind energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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