Principal Investigator: Dr. Mohsen Azimi
Collaborators: Amit Charudatt Kulkarni, Mannikanta Thati
International Collaborator: Dr. Mahmoud Shaaban (Nile University, Egypt)
Led by Dr. Mohsen Azimi, this project focused on advancing the design and efficiency of bladeless wind turbines (BWTs) through a combination of numerical simulation, analytical modeling, and experimental validation. The team developed a novel simulation framework called Rigid Multi-Body Fluid Structure Interaction (RMB-FSI), enabling more accurate modeling of complex fluid-structure interactions in BWTs and other energy systems.
Throughout the year, the team conducted extensive simulations using ANSYS and MATLAB, validated their models against existing literature, and began building a custom wind-wave generator testbed for experimental verification. Their work revealed new insights into the effects of boundary conditions and nonlinear dynamics on BWT performance, and the preparation of two journal papers based on their findings.
The project also catalyzed international collaboration with Dr. Mahmoud Shaaban and led to the submission of five major funding proposals to agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy, the Blue Economy initiative, and the US-Egypt Joint Board. The RMB-FSI method developed through this project has broad applications in wind and wave energy harvesting, offshore hybrid systems, and even aerospace engineering.