Senior year is the final step students take until they step into the "real world," or whatever that means. For a group of seniors in the University of New Hampshire Undergraduate Ocean Research Project, a full-year class for engineering students, the final year provides an out-of-the-classroom experience the students and the world can benefit from.
The groups of seniors are harnessing the power of the ocean itself with tidal energy. The students will use a large pontoon boat, a turbine with 3-foot-long blades, a 19-foot steel cage, generator and many other materials to transform the tides under the General Sullivan Bridge into safe and clean energy.
"I wanted to be able to be able to say I worked on a project that was rare and ahead of its time," said Kevin Buruchian, a senior civil engineering major.
The project, which is in its second year, is focused on making revisions and modifications to improve upon the results that they received from their most significant test that was performed under the old General Sullivan Bridge on Feb. 16.
The General Sullivan Bridge, which connects Dover and Newington, is an ideal location because the bottleneck flow of water through it produces speeds of over two meters a second. However, the system only produced 100 watts of power during the test, which is only enough to power one or two light bulbs.
The team is still optimistic the project can produce more energy, said Jacob Finch, the leader of the performance analysis team, as the students see the first experience as a positive one.
"The important thing initially was to get it in the water and prove that the concept was viable," said Finch. "Now that we have the bridge test under our belt, we will focus on maximizing the power we can produce."
He said one of the ways to better the results is taking the current Gorlov Turbine, which is more efficient than a standard propeller fan-like turbine because energy is absorbed from any angle the water is flowing. They will also to decrease water turbulence by changing the steel square cage into a spherical steel cage.
The goals of the project are to explore new sustainable energy sources, and the students don't have a focus in generating profit for the university, according to Dr. Ken Baldwin, the project's faculty advisor.
"The university is not in the profit business," said Baldwin. "We are in the science and research business."
Baldwin said their job is to partake in tests and experiments and tell the truth with their results. He said he knows there are a lot of opportunities and unanswered questions in the world of tidal energy.
Tidal energy in itself isn't a new concept. France's La Rance Tidal Barrage produces 240 megawatts of power, which is enough power to provide electricity to 96,000 to 216,000 households for a year. The La Rance Tidal Barrage has operated for the last 20 years without breaking down once.
Baldwin and his students are looking at new methods and possibilities in technology that perhaps may result in a more efficient and potentially universal form of tidal energy.
Baldwin said he sees a great power that lies with the tides and that is water. Salt water is 850 times denser than air. In other words, water moving at one nautical mile per hour or one knot puts more force on a structure than wind moving at 100 miles per hour.
The project itself is set up into two teams or parts. The first team is in charge of performance analysis. The other team is the infrastructure group, which is comprised of mostly civil engineering majors along with a couple of mechanical engineering majors.
Finch is the leader of the performance analysis team that consists of mechanical engineering majors and one computer engineering major. Finch and his team are responsible for measuring and recording the turbine's electrical power output and rotational speed.
"I loved being out there on the water - it's my kind of engineering," Finch said. "I don't want to sit behind a desk my whole life."
The senior project started last year in fall 2007 with six mechanical engineers and two electrical engineering students. Along with the project's faculty advisors, the students set out to create a new universal technology using their own creative ideas.
During fall 2007 the students took the challenge to not only design, but also create a way to capture energy from the tide. Considering that this was the university's first step in tidal energy, it was an impressive achievement that the students were able to design and get the parts that supplied the groundwork that could potentially lead the way in alternative energy production.
The team leader of the project last year was mechanical engineering major Sara Lincoln. Lincoln and her team turned a blank piece of paper into ideas, designs and the foundation for this year's tidal energy team.
So far, this year's students have reached all but one of their goals. They have assembled the pontoon and all of the accouterments that go with it, such as the turbine, deployment system, mounting platform, gears and all of the electrical components. They have gotten the pontoon in the water and have gotten data. The final thing on their list is to make modifications for the next test in April.
"We are working hard right now to assemble all the pieces to modify the turbine and perform one last test before the school year is over," said Finch. "Hopefully we can produce more power during this test and leave future teams with a good basis for continuing the project."
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