Final Report Summary - IRWES (Integrated roof wind energy system)
In the first year of the Marie Curie project CFD studies were performed and architectural and engineering features were performed. This information was used to build a full scale mock-up (see http://www.irwes.com/prototype.html and http://www.meerssen.nl/gmr/instyle.nsf/Images/Duurzaamheid/$File/Presentatie+IRWES+Meerssen.pdf online for further details). This full scale prototype, 3.6 x 3.6 m in footprint and 6 m high, was built next to the Maastricht-Aachen Airport in Meerssen, the Netherlands. The purpose of the prototype is to measure acceleration of wind flows and velocity pattern.
By constructing the mock-up different construction issues during the process were studied. For instance, some construction issues delayed the production due to working at height, complexity of shape and connection details, length of the louvers, and periods of unworkable weather conditions. The test results measured in the mock-up shows that the wind flow can be efficiently accelerated at the location in the mock-up where a vertical turbine will be put. The acceleration of the wind flow is up to a very promising level. Postulations indicate that this results in a competing amount of energy generation in relation to system cost in the envisioned use.
The results generated in the prototype served as input to design a pilot unit. This pilot is designed to be placed on the roof of the faculty building in Eindhoven with a height of 57 metres. The pilot unit will be placed on the south facing elevator shaft to ideally catch high winds coming from south-west. The size is designed as a 12 x 6 m unit with a single turbine inside using the complete wind volume. In the duration of the MC-project the design and the engineering was made and the process of acquiring the necessary permissions was started. The design was consulted with the building architect Bert Dirrix, who considered the unit as enrichment to his building. He now even uses this concept in other architectural designs.