Wind Tunnel Model Intern

Altaeros Energies is an early-stage company working to bring the first airborne wind turbine to market. Altaeros turbines hold the potential to deliver cheap renewable energy to rural, island, and offshore sites that face high electricity costs. Founded in 2010 by MIT & Harvard alumni with a background in aerospace, energy, and industrial gases, Altaeros has received seed funding from private investors, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the California Energy Commission, and the Maine Technology Institute. Altaeros Energies is located in the Greentown Labs incubator in Boston, MA.

Position Overview: 

Altaeros Energies seeks an aerospace or mechanical engineering intern or co-op to build and conduct wind tunnel tests of its breakthrough Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT). The Altaeros AWT uses a helium-filled, inflatable shell adapted from proven aerospace technology to lift a wind turbine up to 600m in the air, harnessing winds over 5 times as strong as those that a tower can reach. A one minute video of the technology can be viewed here.

Based on the results of the initial, half scale prototype tests, CFD design work and previous wind tunnel models, the company is developing a next generation shell design for improved performance. The position will focus on building several small scale models of the candidate shell designs and designing and implementing wind tunnel experiments to characterize the aerodynamic performance of the candidate shells. The experiments will measure the lift, drag, side-force and aerodynamic moments of the shells over a wide range of pitch and yaw angles, at a representative Reynolds number, in both power producing and non-power producing configurations. Results will be used to validate CFD models of the candidate shells and will play a major part in selecting a design for further development.

The internship or co-op period will begin in November 2012 or January 2013 and will run roughly one semester. Altaeros is particularly interested in meeting candidates that may wish to remain involved with the company after the internship ends.

Responsibilities:

• Build 2-4 model shells, using foam and fiberglass fabrication method
• Design wind tunnel experiments to measure aerodynamic forces and moments
• Implement wind tunnel experiments and post-process results to inform design decisions and dynamic modeling efforts
• Opportunity to take on short-term projects in other areas to learn about management of a startup company

Qualifications:

• Junior, Senior, Graduate Student, or recent graduate in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering or similar field
• Experience with model building and/or composites fabrication
• Experience with CAD (Solidworks preferred)
• Very detail oriented
• Ability to work independently to achieve deliverables
• Passionate and fun attitude