Transcript Team Super Awesome Windmill

Brandon Johnson, Kevin Dowling, Kerry Memory
Super
Awesome
Windmill
Design - Supplies
 Rare-Earth Neodymium-Iron-Boron magnets
 Approximately 1,600 feet of 30 gauge insulated wire
 Acrylic sheets
 Scrap plywood
 Electrical tape
 PVC pipe
 Fan blade
 Hot glue
 Nail
The Order Behind The Chaos
Electrical
Mechanical
 Works by spinning the
 Use fan blades to convert the
magnetic field perpendicular to
the direction of the coil
 Stronger magnets, more turns
of wire, closer spacing between
magnets and wire, and
increased velocity all increase
electrical output
wind energy into rotational
energy in the generator
 Rotational energy converted
into electricity by magnetic
field and wire
Efficiency
 ρ = Density of air = 1.204 kg/m3
 A = Area of fan blades = π*(.3m)2 = .2827 m2
 v = Velocity of wind = 20 mph = 8.94 m/s
 PTheoretical = 1/2ρAv3 = 121.6 Watts
 I = Current = .3 Amps
 V = Voltage = 45 Volts
 PActual = I*V = 13.5 Watts
 η = PActual/PTheoretical * 100 = 11.1%
Learning Experiences
 Need lots of wire
 Need to get magnets close
to wire
 Needs to spin very fast
 Splicing wires is more
trouble than it’s worth
Massive Failures
Conclusion
 Splicing was a problem.
 Lack of knowledge about electricity and magnetism
 The biggest problem was trying to build a decent fan.
 We learned that more is always better.
 We were successful at lighting and burning out the bulb.
 If we could do it again we would have done more
research on generators and windmills.