Introduction to Engineering and Technology
CCRI
ENGR-1020
Fall 2007
Wind Turbine Project
Group 3
Team Members:
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Original Pico Turbine
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Improved and Final Turbine
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Turbine Construction Details
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Detail Description
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Photo
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After rough cutting and laying out all basic dimensions of the base, the stator, and the rotor, the next step was laying out the coils dimensionally equal. To do this, two quarter inch pine boards were cut to a ten inch radius using a compass and jigsaw. The compass was also used to layout the coils and magnets on both the stator and rotor. These two pieces were cut together to avoid different dimensions. |
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Now that the rotor and the stator have been established with dimensions I moved onto the design of the ball bearing slot. The ball bearing had to be elevated in order to allow the rod to sit into the base and secure into the bearing. The slot was made out of Trek decking allowing the bearing to be forced by a vice into the pliable material. This support was made by a paddle bit and pressed by a bench vice. |
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Now with the ball bearing support made, the base was cut into using a Bosch router and 5/8” square bit to press the support into the base. The stator was also routed out and pressed over the bearing support. With this in place, the coils could be marked out on the piece of pine and transferred to another 10” diameter round piece. |
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With the round piece cut out and the coil template transferred, the piece was cut out and notched for every coil. This was a security factor, keeping the coils in place as the magnets and rotor spin over the stator. This cut out allowed the coils to maintain the same spots as well as covered the wiring. |
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The support beams and top were added in order to feed the rod through the entire turbine and ball bearing at the same time maintaining stability for the rod. This stand was made with a two by six piece of pressure treated wood. The two by six was ripped on a table saw at a slight angle. Blocking at the bottom was also cut at the same angle to attach the legs to the base and secure it steady. Finding the center point in relation to the ball bearing was found by using a plumb bob. A hole was then drilled through and a washer fit to the rod was pressed into the top. This reduced the friction as well as the vibration of the rod as it rotates. |
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The purchased air duct was cut in half as well as trimmed at the top and bottom to make equal sized blades. Cutting out portions of the top and bottom made it possible to create tabs which were later attached to pieces of the quarter inch pine already cut to fit. |
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After the rod has been pushed through all components of the turbine, the blades were attached to the pieces of pine as well as tightened using nuts equal to the rod. These nuts and washers inside of the blade assembly are adjusted to keep the blades moving with rod. The rotor was also attached to the rod by the same procedure. |
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The final assembly is complete. The nuts along the threaded rod make it possible to adjust the rotor and play around with the space between the magnets and coils. As opposed to a non threaded rod, the rod used make it possible to make any adjustment simply by turning and adjusting the nuts. |
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Two Turbines - $80.00
Threaded 5/16” rod - $3.50
Washer and Nuts - $2.00
Four Additional Magnets - $4.80
Air Duct - $4.00
Pine MDF board - $3.80
Total $98.10
Turbine Test Procedures
We first measured the internal resistance and read 50.8 ohms. We then positioned the Turbine approximately 6 inches away from the fan controlled by rheostat. We attached the multi-meter and began testing at the lowest readable speed. We read the wind speed using a anemometer. We tested our turbine by adjusting the wind speed in accordance with our data sheet. By using the average MPH feature we continued our testing until the fan was set to full output. We followed the same procedure with no load, a 100-ohm resistor, and a 200-ohm resistor.
Turbine Wind Speed Versus RPM
Turbine Power Curve
Conclusions
According to the graph, our power output followed the wind speed proportionally. Throughout the testing all output of the turbine was constant with little deviation from the power curve. Overall, for the simple design and precise execution, our turbine did indeed light the LED and also ran smoothly. In conclusion, our turbine proved to be a success in what it sought out to do.
