Stuttgart Wind Energy (SWE) is affiliated to the Institute of Aircraft design at the faculty of aerospace engineering at the University of Stuttgart. At the chair, the work of the wind energy pioneer Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Hütter (1910 - 1989) is continued within research and teaching programs. Research and teaching in the field of wind energy is executed multi disciplinary and internationally and students of all faculties of the University of Stuttgart are welcome. The expansion and usage of wind energy and other renewable energy sources is actively supported. Since 2011 Prof. Po Wen Cheng is head of the chair. The SWE was established in 2004 thanks to an endowment of Dipl.-Ing. Karl Schlecht, founder of the Putzmeister AG, Aichtal. Research at the chair treats wind turbines as complex integrated systems. The researcher focus in their work on improving the reliability of turbines and on lowering the production costs of energy. The work is conducted within three research groups.
Testing and measurement
The research group test and measurement deals with all measurements related to wind energy. The focus of the group are lidar wind field measurements for different applications such as power curve measurement and wind energy in complex terrain.
Conceptual design and system simulation
The research Group “Conceptual Design and System Simulation” at the Stuttgart Chair of Wind Energy primarily is engaged in numerical aero-servo-hydro-elastic simulation of the complete system windturbine, onshore and offshore.
Control, optimization and monitoring
This working group focuses on the improvement of wind turbines’ operation with new control strategies, monitoring and structural optimization. Robust and predictive control strategies are designed and tested to reduce the operational loads and increase the energy efficiency.