Wind Physics and Applications

Catalog description

Where does wind come from, and how might it factor into some of the world's most pressing climate and energy challenges? We spend almost all of our lives within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), which reaches from the ground up to about a kilometer in altitude. The motions of the ABL thus have far-reaching consequences for a wide range of engineering and environmental systems, such as wind turbines and wind farms, aircraft and drones, flying animals and insects, urban air pollution, local ecosystem health, and many more. This course will introduce students to the governing principles of the ABL and of the technologies that operate within it. We will first study the dynamics of the ABL itself, including the effects of turbulence, stratification, rotation, and surface topography. We will then explore the means by which wind turbines and wind farms harness these dynamics for the sustainable generation of renewable energy. Applications to other systems affected by the atmosphere, such as light aerial vehicles, solar farms, and buildings and cities, will be surveyed. We will also consider the broader societal and environmental implications of these topics. Overall, the course will prepare students to account for and leverage the complex motions of the atmosphere in real-world engineering applications.