Name ______________________

Wind Power
1. The essential components of almost every power generation system are _____________ and ________________ 2. A coal-fired power plant uses ____________ to turn a ________________

3. The three components of every wind turbine are the _______________, ________________, and __________________ 4. In general, is it better to have strong wind half the time, or medium wind all the time? Explain your considerations.

5. List three pros and three cons of wind energy:

6. Given V=IR (Ohm's Law) and P=VI (power equation), derive the power equation as a function of voltage and resistance.

7. Wind turbine blade brainstorm (you can draw ideas sideways):

Idea 1:

Idea 4: Idea 2:

Idea 5: Idea 3:

Develop 5 different design selection considerations, and then score your ideas with a +, -, or 0. Circle your best scoring idea.
Selection Matrix Ideas Blade Design Consideration 1 2 3 4 5

Total

Wind Turbine Optimization Worksheet

In order to customize our wind turbine for the given wind conditions, it is necessary to choose a blade arrangement that maximizes generator power output. This part of the engineering design process is known as refinement or optimization. Step 1) Choose a blade configuration You should have at least six blades in your turbine blade set. Start testing your turbine with six blades. Take voltage and current data for the six-bladed configuration then begin to remove/rearrange blades and take more data for the following configurations:
Wind Turbine Blade Configuration Optimization Data Blade Configuation 6 Blades 4 Blades 3 Blades 2 Blades Other? Other? Voltage (volts) Resistance (Ohms) Power (miliwatts)

Please create a graph of your results in the space provided

below: Which blade configuration produced the most power?

Why do you believe this blade configuration produced the most power?

From these data, please decide on a blade configuration. You do not need to choose the blade configuration that produced the maximum power. Please explain the reason(s) for your choice below:

Step 2) Choose a blade angle In order to truly optimize our wind turbines, we must not only choose the appropriate number of blades, but also the blade angle, sometimes called the angle of attack that maximizes power output. In order to adjust the angle of your blades, use the handy-dandy protractor on the back of this worksheet. Line up the 0 degree line of the protractor with the edge of your wooden base, then line up the turbine blade with the appropriate angle mark. Record voltage and current measurements for the following angles:

Note: please let other students use the fans while you are adjusting your blade angles
Wind Turbine Blade Configuration Optimization Data Blade Angle 90 (cutting the wind) 67.5 45 22.5 0 (flat) Other? Other? Other? Voltage (volts) Resistance (Ohms) Power (miliwatts)

Please create a graph of your results in the space provided below:

Which blade angle produced the most power? Why do you think this happened?

Which blade angle would you choose for your wind turbine? Why?

Step 3) Calculate the efficiency of the wind turbine As an engineer, it is important not only to optimize your system, but to understand how your optimized system holds up against the ideal. The comparison of your systems performance to the ideal is called efficiency and is symbolized with the Greek letter eta: =Pactual/Pideal For a wind turbine, the ideal power is Pideal= (1/2)r2v3 Where is the density of the air, r is the radius of the turbine, and v is the velocity of the wind. The density of air in Colorado is approximately 1 kilogram per meter cubed, the radius of the turbine can be measured with a ruler/tape measure (in meters!), and the velocity of the wind can be measured with the blue wind meter (in m/s!). Density of air = ___________kg/m3 Radius of turbine =___________m Velocity of the wind=_____________m/s Pideal= (1/2)r2v3=______________watts Now you know the ideal or maximum power output of the most perfect turbine someone could ever build. This turbine would suck 100% of the winds kinetic energy out of the air. We want to compare our turbines to the ideal uber-turbine. Find your maximum measured power output (optimum number of blades with optimum angle) and write it below. Be sure to convert it to watts (it is currently in milliwatts so you need to divide your previous value by 1000 to get the power in watts). Pactual=____________watts Now, calculate the efficiency of your turbine by dividing you power value by the ideal value. Be sure to convert your answer to percent by moving the decimal place to the right by two places. =Pactual/Pideal=____________% Wow, that is low! Please provide three ideas as to why our turbines efficiencies are so low:

Extra Challenge: Rather than choosing an optimum blade angle from a limited set of tested angles, fit your data with a fourth-order polynomial. Use either Excel or a graphing calculator to accomplish this. Once you have your fourth-order polynomial equation, write it here: ___________________________ Now, use calculus or observation to determine where the first derivative of the polynomial is equal to zero (the slope of the line is zero). This indicates a location where the curve is at a maximum (ie the slope of the curve is zero). If you are uncomfortable to calculus, or just dont feel like doing it, you can just eyeball where the curve is a maximum. It is at this location that the power output of the blades should be (roughly) maximum.

Extra-Super Challenge: A loop of wire with cross-sectional area A is rotating within a homogeneous magnetic field of field strength B. As the wire loop turns, the amount of magnetic field, B, entering the loop is reduced and increased in accordance with angle of the wire with rotational velocity . As the magnetic flux within the wire loop changes, a voltage is produced in accordance with the following differential equation: V=d/dt where d represents rate change of the magnetic flux and t represents rate change of time.

Using trigonometry, geometry, Ohms law, and basic calculus, calculate the equation for current through the external load resistor, R.

Handy-Dandy Protractor

22.5 45 0 67.5 Wind turbine hub

Towards Fan

90

67.5 0 45 22.5