Rowan Engineering takes off with energy project

August 27, 2009

There’s no complaining when Rowan University’s Dr. Hong Zhang and Kyle Fitzpatrick leave the Glassboro campus and head to the Jersey Shore to fly kites.

That’s because the two aren’t wasting taxpayers’ money; they’re looking to eventually help save it.

Zhang, a mechanical engineering associate professor, and Fitzpatrick, the mechanical engineering technician, recently initiated a research project to determine whether outsized kites can be used as an alternate means to generate energy, an important focus during an era when fuel prices continue to fluctuate and the economy is iffy at best.

The kite project is just that latest among many alternative energy projects Rowan engineering and science professors have been working on with students during the last several years, from solar power to biofuels.

The duo isn’t working with kiddie kites, of course. Zhang and Fitzpatrick, who is a kite-boarder in his spare time, are testing parasail type of kites made out of nylon and measuring 20, 30 and 50 square feet.

“Everyone is talking about green energy. One green energy is wind power,” Zhang said. “If we can use the wind energy, we can go vertical with the kites and get higher and higher. The higher the altitude, the stronger the wind. If we can go higher, we can recoup a lot of energy.”

Zhang and Fitzpatrick are flying kites, minus the balsa wood backbone of the typical retail versions, which attach to a generator. A joystick controls a motor that spins a control bar attached to the kite and guides it into a steady-state figure 8 to generate the maximum amount of power. Constant movement in a steady path is important in capturing the wind and generating power, according to the duo. They’re taking the kites to the air in the Strathmere area because they haven’t found a suitable inland site that provides enough wind.

Windmills are already capturing energy in a variety of places, including the Atlantic City area. But Zhang said that kites suitable for a mass scale energy capture would cost less than $1 million, while a windmill can cost 10 to 20 times that amount. Even though kites are more susceptible to wear and tear than windmills, they’re still less expensive to repair or replace.

Ultimately, the professor would like to see a kite farm off the coast but close enough to the cities that are the major consumers of energy. “We want the energy sources to be close to energy users,” Zhang said.

This summer, the team has been experimenting with different kite flight patterns managed by an autopilot control. Fitzpatrick is working on various designs for students to work on come fall. That’s when Zhang plans to continue the research as a Rowan Engineering clinic project, a semester or longer worth of work undertaken by multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate and possibly graduate students.

Ultimately, Zhang and Fitzpatrick believe wind energy may be a highly desirable option for our country and the world, and energy-capturing kites might become a marketable commodity that can serve developed and developing countries as well. “It’s renewable energy. It’s green. It can help solve the energy crisis and also reduce pollution,” Zhang said. “Wind is coming from the sun, so it is endless.”


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