Adam Butterworth

Adam, experienced Design and Development Engineer, works on wind turbine test data analysis and blade structure verification. He holds a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from University of Brighton. 

As a passionate kite surfer, he has studied the longitudinal dynamic stability of kiteboard hydrofoils. Analysing an existing hydrofoil design as a benchmark, Adam investigated how alterations to the fuselage length and stabiliser foil area effect dynamic stability, with a view to optimising the board’s response for a novice rider. Not content with the theory, Adam manufactured a full-scale prototype using 3D rapid prototyping and hand lay-up GRP lamination. The result was tested in a wind tunnel and modelled in MATLAB to optimise the conventional 2-wing-configuration hydrofoil.

Photos © Gary Levett