Miniature Wind Turbine Control – Controlling a Miniature Wind Turbine

In light of the growing need for sustainable energy generation and the associated societal Transformation, this project offers an innovative bridge between traditional aerospace engineering and the field of renewable energy. The aim of the project is to develop and build a fully controllable miniature wind turbine that serves as a teaching and research platform. Aerospace engineering students apply their knowledge from fields such as aerodynamics, mechanics, electronics, control engineering and software development to the design of a wind turbine that can be actively controlled in terms of pitch, yaw and electrical load. In this way, the small-scale turbine mimics key control functions of utility-scale wind turbines, thereby enabling practically-oriented learning and development experiences. In contrast to existing wind turbine models, which focus either on simplified aerodynamics or on complex prototypes suitable for wind tunnel testing, the emphasis here is on a cost-effective design that nevertheless incorporates all essential control functions, including the corresponding actuators and sensors. Students develop the turbine entirely themselves – from the rotor blade design and the nacelle mechanics to the tower structure with integrated yaw actuation. In addition to its educational benefits, the project also aims to create an experimental platform for testing and validating advanced control algorithms. These can initially be tested on a laboratory scale before being further developed for use in larger installations.