10 student teams from Europe, Canada and Egypt participated in this year`s edition of the Small Wind Turbine (SWT) competition organized by the NHL University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. The GUST team from Lodz University of Technology for the first time presented two turbines - one with a horizontal and one with a vertical axis of rotation. Students also introduced design changes compared to previous projects.

"We changed the aerodynamic blades profiles of the turbine with a horizontal axis of rotation, of which we had tested several versions. We also presented our generator coil switching system, and during the competition we used our proprietary touch panel control system" - says Katarzyna Telega from the GUST team.

During the competition, all teams tested their turbines in a wind tunnel and could not see their competitors` results. After a series of performance tests, each team presented their project at a poster session. The presentations were also evaluated.

Students announce further improvements to their wind turbine designs. In addition to next year`s edition of the International Small Wind Turbine Contest, they will try to enter the prestigious Collegiate Wind Competition that will be organized in two years by the US Department of Energy.

The GUST (Generative Urban Small Turbine) team has been operating since 2015 as part of the Power Engineers Student Club of at the Institute of Turbomachinery, Lodz University of Technology.

The team members are students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering, the Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics, the Faculty of Management and Production Engineering, and the International Faculty of Engineering.

The project is co-financed from funds awarded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the "Best of the Best! 2.0" programme.

PAP - Science in Poland

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