Creating Innovative Laboratory Systems For Engineering & Technical Education
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    Renewable Energy Labs

    Thinking about hands-on renewable energy training for your students? We have some very intriguing systems for you to look at.

    Wind

    Our newest offering, the WindLabTM Wind Turbine Electrical Generation System, is a scale three-phase wind generation station. Students thinking about a renewable energy career will certainly gravitate to this outstanding system. WindLabTM is equipped with its own programmable wind source. This wind drives an industry standard 3-bladed rotor system which drives a scale three phase generator through a step-up planetary gear box. Students can observe and study the sinusoidal voltage and current wave patterns in real time on the included custom LabViewTM generated virtual instrument panel, while recording this data in a National InstrumentsTM Data Acquisition System for later use. They can adjust loading on each electric phase to see what happens to the true voltage and current wave forms. They can also compare these wave forms against the RMS voltage and current readings displayed on the VI and learn about the difference. Furthermore, they have the opportunity to learn about variable excitation voltage and how that works (WindLab uses an electromagnetic rotor in the generator, not permanent magnets). Students can actually see how excitation voltage is transferred to the rotating core through a slip ring connection.

    If you’re thinking of buying anything for your lab, this is the unit to get. Commercial wind turbine manufacturers need Renewable Energy engineers for all aspects of the wind turbine generation process, including; site research and public education, as well as logistics for manufacturing, transport, erecting and maintaining these gigantic systems. Knowing as much as possible on how these systems work give the renewable energy engineer the edge in successfully placing a wind farm in a particular locale. What is especially neat about WindLab is that it’s clean, attractive, not smelly or obnoxiously noisy and will really offer a number of opportunities for Renewable Energy Engineering students to learn hands-on. Don’t hold back-inspire your students with a WindLab. Furthermore, imagine what prospective students to your school will think when they see it and your students in action. Be ready for an influx of interest!

    Bio-Fuels Renewable Liquid Fuels and Jet Engines

    What could be more dramatic than having your students throttle up a live jet engine system being powered by a renewable fuel source? You will definitely have their undivided attention. Our MiniLabTM Gas Turbine Power System will inspire your students to get into the study of the Brayton Power Cycle and its performance on renewable fuel blends. The on-board National InstrumentsTM Data Acquisition System and LabViewTM Generated Custom Virtual Instrument panel allow students to monitor all aspects of the system in real time while being able to analyze the runs in detail later on. It doesn’t end there. It can team up with our SprayViewTM Fuel Atomization Verification System to pre-test fuel formulations to determine if they will actually atomize correctly in the engine (this can reduce fuel-related problems and speed up testing). Your colleagues in Chemical Engineering who do a lot of this type of fuels research would very likely want to work with you so that their students could also learn how to performance test bio-diesel fuel formulations they have developed in their lab (Chem-E students need some excitement in their lives too!).

    Electrical Generation experiments

    Want to take jet power on renewable fuels to another level? How about jet powered electrical generation? Here’s where you could team up with the Electrical Engineers, Aero Engineers and those Chemical Engineers again to gain some fantastic hands-on educational experience. Our TurboGenTM Gas Turbine Electrical Generation System is that next level. The same MiniLabTM Power System drives a 2 kW electric generator. Students can cover a number of bases, including the Brayton Cycle, Electric Power Generation and conversion efficiency. Fuels research takes a giant step forward as the unit allows a direct comparison of electrical power production performance on various bio-diesel blends. SprayView is also an excellent accessory for this system. As with the MiniLabTM, the TurboGenTM features an on-board National InstrumentsTM Data Acquisition System and LabViewTM Generated Custom Virtual Instrument panel which allow students to monitor all aspects of the system in real time while being able to analyze the runs in detail later on.