Today the group met to continue editing and improving the Final Report and Presentation for the project. Sections of the report and slideshow were distributed among group members to focus on individually.
We discussed the adjustments made to the PVC end capping to hold in place the rod connecting the gear system to the motor, as mentioned in the previous post. For testing, a small piece of scrap metal was duct taped into position above the rod's intended resting location to prevent the rod from moving upwards as the gear system turned, keeping it locked in its proper horizontal location. Should the turbine require any further testing, this apparatus will be more firmly put into place using paperclip attachments as we have with other rods.
We will meet tomorrow to compile a final presentation slideshow of our individual efforts and to practice our presentation several times to be sure we can cover the necessary details in the allotted timeframe. The group's progression through the project is in line with the original projected timeline, as planned.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Today's Testing
Today we completed our final test of our wind turbine. Our turbine performed well at all wind speeds, and at each of the three gear ratios. After today's testing we noticed that the back panel of the turbine would have to be retrofitted with metal supports around each shaft hole. The reason for this modification is to prevent the degradation of the plastic as the shafts spin at the higher speeds. As we were testing without this modification today the holes widened with time causing the shafts to jump and a large amount of gear slip to occur. As of now we have made necessary fixes and this problem has been resolved. We also came to the conclusion today that our power output is severely limited by our small DC motor and not the turbine design itself. The turbine spins well at all speeds and can handle the maximum wind speed at all gear ratios. If a higher quality generator were hooked up to the turbine we are confident that we would see a significant increase in the power output. A video of today's testing can be viewed by clicking the link below.
Testing video from 6-3-13
Testing video from 6-3-13
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