Recently, the Ministry of Education announced the final award list of the China International College Students Innovation Competition (2024). Our school’s project, “Research and Application of Ultra-High Tower Technology for Wind Turbines Under the ‘Dual Carbon’ Background,” won the silver award in the industrial track.
The project was commissioned by CSSC Haizhuang Wind Power Co., Ltd., with the guidance team composed of professors from Chongqing University, including Wang Yuhang, Zhou Xuhong, Yang Qingshan, Xu Fei, Ke Ke, Chen Yuguo, Ran Rong, and Xie Qiang. The competition team was led by doctoral student Jin Kaiyuan from our school, with team members including Hu Chao, Wen Hao, Xiaoming Zhang, Pouria Ayough, Ruizhi Zhang, Zhang Minghui, Pengkun Liu, Wei Shichao, Lu Yian, Zhou Qiguo, Qiu Huahua, Fu Mengni, Liu Xingwang, and Zhang Jie. Leveraging interdisciplinary strengths in civil engineering, computer science, mathematics, and economics, the team applied their expertise to solve industrial challenges in areas such as technological R&D, solution optimization, and competitive product analysis.
Core Members of the Competition Team
Wind power development is a crucial pathway for China to achieve its “dual carbon” goals. In recent years, China has extensively developed wind energy resources below 200 meters. Future efforts will focus on harnessing wind energy resources above 300 meters to achieve layered development and utilization. However, for towers exceeding 300 meters in height, key challenges include unclear resonance mechanisms, complex buckling instability behaviors, and a lack of design theories. Additionally, existing tower designs face difficulties in industrial application and promotion due to high material costs, hindering the development of wind energy resources above 300 meters. To address these challenges theoretically and technologically in advance, CSSC Haizhuang Wind Power Co., Ltd. issued the industrial track proposition “Ultra-High Wind Turbine Towers of 300 Meters.”
Under the careful guidance of the instructor team, the competition team spent over three months on theoretical design, numerical analysis, and experimental verification, ultimately proposing an innovative solution for 300-meter ultra-high wind turbine towers that is “cost-effective, safe, and reliable.” Compared to traditional structures, this solution reduces land occupancy by approximately 40%, decreases tower-top displacement by about 29%, and cuts comprehensive costs by roughly 34%. The proposal received high recognition from the commissioning enterprise, which plans to implement a prototype project within the next five years.
Project Information
This award highlights our school’s talent cultivation quality and research capabilities in the field of wind power support structures, providing strong support for the development of Chongqing University’s first-class discipline in civil engineering. The school will continue to deepen reforms in innovation and entrepreneurship education, promote the integration of industry, academia, and research, and cultivate more innovative talents to meet national strategic needs.
Academician Zhou Xuhong and Professor Wang Yuhang provide guidance to core team members
The China International College Students Innovation Competition (2024) was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Education, the United Front Work Department, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and 11 other central government departments in collaboration with the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. The competition attracted 5.14 million projects and 20.836 million participants from 5,406 universities across 153 countries and regions worldwide. After months of intense competition, 1,410 projects advanced to the final on-site competition.
