1st Week on the Job

Hello again everyone,
       This past week, my first working on the wind power project, really helped me delve into the workings of wind turbines as well as further my understanding of hydraulic circuits. Jose and I had the chance to build small hydraulic circuits on training benches (similar to the ones at Purdue), which really helped me comprehend more hydraulic components in a concrete way. We even designed our own circuits, but sadly a defective component prevented mine from operating correctly.

My circuit was supposed to operate a motor at a constant speed, regardless of cylinder action.

         As we worked our way through the basics of wind turbines, I realized that our wind turbine research touched on a lot of topics aside from hydraulics, from aerodynamics to control systems to simulations. While I don't know yet which area(s) my summer research project will cover, I'll hopefully find out in the coming week. I did find it fascinating that hydraulics are already regularly used in wind turbines to control the blades, just not in the gearbox (where the CCEFP's project is looking to implement them).
         Hope everyone else had a great first week too!