Surprise Blackout Provides Learning Opportunity
Tuesday evening, our engineers received an alert that our Model 3.1 had shut down during a period of autonomous operations. Mark Chang, Jeff Willis, and Antonio Ojeda responded to a report of power loss at the UL testing facilities in Texas caused by an automobile accident that knocked [...]
Model 4.0 Drive Shaft and Bearing Housings Have Been Ordered
The Era of our Model 4.0 has begun! With the data gathered from our Model 3.1, we are officially able to move onward to start Technology Readiness Level 8 full certification. Before that, however, we must source our materials for the new model and begin manufacturing the components. [...]
Aerodynamic Drag on Model 3.1 Less than Predicted
Omar Garcia, Soon to be Graduated mechanical engineer, and working full time with Wind Harvest, assists in the field portion of our model 3.1 drag test. With the repair of the problematic caliper brake, the unanticipated errant mechanical drag has been eliminated. Thus, we were able [...]
Successful VSAM Implementation and Operation Along with Other Significant Milestones Achieved During Recent Model 3.1 Test Phase
Author: Mark Chang, Lead Consulting Electrical Engineer This week we achieved a significant milestone with the successful full-scale test of our proprietary new variable speed control algorithm module (VSAM). The VSAM automatically adjusts the turbine's rotational speed as wind speed changes. The VSAM control mode allows the [...]
Caliper Brake Issue Resolved. Exciting Data Produced.
It all started when we couldn’t get the permanent magnet generator (PMG) we’d ordered from China. That led us to find a horizontal axis wind turbine PMG from Soga in Italy that had been ordered but never delivered. We were lucky because we could get the generator right [...]
Caliper Brake Issues Identified and Adjustments in Process
We found various anomalies in the first round of Model 3.1 data analysis led by Dr. Malcolm, Dr. Ojala, and our lead electrical engineer, Mr. Mark Chang. The performance and load data collected were instrumental in identifying the issues. To confirm the suspected interference and drag caused by [...]
Power Performance Data Collection Nearing Completion
In this video, our intern from West Texas A&M, engineering student Omar Garcia, narrates a test where the generator maintains the turbine at a steady 40 RPM while collecting electrical output and strain gauge data in different wind speeds. This has been somewhat of a challenge since the [...]
3.1 Strain Gage and Aerodynamic Drag Data
Meteorological (“Met”) mast with anemometers and transmitter. The Pilot Project step in the Technology Readiness Level process (TRL 7) is an enormously important but rarely reached milestone in the commercialization of utility-scale, renewable energy technology. The full-scale prototype going through this step provides real-world data that [...]
We did it! Our Wind Harvester 3.1 is generating power and data!
Watch this video as Mark Chang in Northern California, Antonio Ojeda in Spain and Jeff Willis on-the-ground at the UL Advanced Wind Turbine Testing Facility in Texas bring our Model 3.1 turbine through its 40 RPM test. At this rate, we are only days away [...]
Brake Modification and Testing Successful
This week, Jeff Willis and Mark Chang oversaw the successful testing of our reconfigured braking system with the brake disc reinstalled above the generator and not below. With all the supply chain and COVID-related worker problems, plus the holidays and a cold Texas winter, it took almost two [...]
