Wind Turbine
The Problem
Civilization has collapsed and you need power, build a Wind Turbine in order to power your town
Materials
- 1 generator (3v DC motor)
- 3 – 24” long sticks of Balsa wood
- Hot glue
- “office tools” – Scissors, rulers, compass, etc.
- About 1 week of time
- 1 classroom fan for testing.
- 1 classroom multimeter for testing.
Research
My group researched three solutions to this problem. First we researched three bladed turbines. Next we looked at a pin-wheel design and finally a vertical axis turbine. We liked all the ideas, but the pinwheel and vertical axis designs were very interesting to us.
Idea Matrix
Summary
From the research and idea matrix, my group decided to go with a vertical axis turbine. But, as you will see, we actually turned our turbine to a horizontal axis and it was more efficient that way.
Graphical Model
Mathematical Model
Shown in the graph, there is an increase in power output the taller the turbine. After seeing this data, we adjusted our design from a soda can stand, to a taller cardboard stand. This change increased our power output from .1 volts to .211 volts. I am glad we analyzed this data and made this change for now our turbine is better.
Working Model
First, our design was on a vertical axis and did not catch the wind. Then we adjusted it to a horizontal angle and it caught even though we did not expect it to. Also, we adjusted our stand from a short soda can to a tall cardboard tower.
Our max amount of power generated at the first (closest) distance was .2 volts.
Our max amount of power generated at the first (closest) distance was .2 volts.