Civil and Environmental Engineering

Last year set a record for wind-energy installations in Canada and the US at an enormous: an average 100 MW terrestrial wind farm requires a $250-million investment. Wind farm owners are naturally keen to ensure that their machines operate efficiently, and that’s where Rupp Carriveau comes in.

The components for the first of two new wind tunnels to be installed in the new Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation began arriving late last week, much to the delight of the researchers who will be working with them.

Made by Industrial Metal Fabricators Ltd. of Chatham, the elevated 12 meter tunnel will run in a closed loop around the walls of a lab in the north-east corner of the CEI. With a 1.2 meter fan and a 30 horsepower motor, the tunnel will be capable of generating wind speeds of up to about 30 meters per second.

Learning by practice is always the best, says civil engineering professor Amr ElRagaby.

That’s what makes a contest to design and build a bridge from popsicle sticks a valuable experience for his students.

“They can understand the principles, but when the have a chance to apply the theories, they learn something they will never forget,” he said Wednesday, as members of his class in Finite Element for Analysis and Design tested the load-bearing capacity of their structures.

Who knew that windmills are territorial? According to an article published online this week by the Ontario Council on University Research, UWindsor researcher Rupp Carriveau did—and his work can turn that knowledge into better wind farms.

Placed too close together, turbines interfere with one another, reducing their overall efficiency, but Dr. Carriveau, an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering, is working to determine how strategic placement can exploit the windmills’ wakes to increase power generation.