Designing an H-rotor type Wind Turbine for Operation on Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

• Main Author: Wahl, Mats
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för teknikvetenskaper 2007
• Subjects: Amundsen Scott South Pole Station; Amundsen-Scott; Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station; South Pole; Antarc*; Antarctica; South pole
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-162805

This thesis focuses on designing the turbine, tower structure and generator for an H-rotor type wind turbine. The produced power will be used for heating of drilling equipment, stored in containers, on the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. A 23 kW wind turbine producing 5 kW on average has been designed. Moreover, the design has been tested to be mounted on top of the container storing the drilling equipment. Climatological data have been processed to describe the wind regime in useful terms. A three bladed H-rotor has been dimensioned for the mean power demand using a Conformal Mapping and Double Multiple Streamtube model. The tower structure has been tested considering strength and eigenfrequencies with simulations based on Finite Element Method and analytical calculations. An outer rotor generator has been designed using a simulation code based on Finite Element Method. The site specific constraints due to the extreme climate in Antarctica are considered throughout the design process. Installing this wind turbine would be a first step towards higher penetration of renewable energy sources on the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.