Applied Wind Energy Research at the National Wind Technology Center

Applied research activities at the National Wind Technology Center are divided into several technical disciplines (Table 1). Not surprisingly, these engineering and science disciplines highlight the technology similarities between aircraft and wind turbine design requirements. More often than not, wind turbines are assumed to be a subset of the much larger and more comprehensive list of wellunderstood aerospace engineering accomplishments and it is difficult for the general public to understand the poor performance history of wind turbines in sustained operation. Often overlooked are the severe environmental conditions and operational demands placed on turbine designs which define unique requirements beyond typical aerospace applications. It is the role of the National WindTechnology Center to investigate and quantify the underlying physical phenomena which make the wind turbine design problem unique and to provide the technology advancements necessary to overcome current operational limitations.