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VAWT fiddling started...
DamonHD:
Hi,
Although I'm more a programmer than a carpenter (or whatever the equivalent in plastic is), I'm having a small go at understanding a simple drag-type S-VAWT made from an empty drink bottle. Not to drive any sort of generator, just to move.
At the moment my little prototype is becalmed by a complete absence of wind (and a poor bearing) though I'm sure I saw it twitch a few mm in the right direction when we had a little puff of breeze.
* * *
My moderate idea is this: for small VAWTs, rather than have them sat on the ground with the motor bearing taking the weight (ie in compression) would an alternative to be to suspend the VAWT blades from the motor spindle (ie in tension) with the motor on a universal joint and/or the blades suspended on a piece of slightly twistable cord to avoid some of the side-to-side wear/torque? Getting everything slightly off the ground is likely to improve wind speed/flow a little, just to start with.
The bottom of the blades at the centre could be fixed to the floor via another cird and bearing, or simply allowed to hang free, maybe with a small weight.
I'm think of constructions from the size of a Chinese lantern up to a plastic barrel VAWT. Maybe good for Watts through to tens of Watts in low wind speed.
Any chance of it being do-able or sensible?
Rgds
Damon
disaray1:
Ahhh. Damon has the fever. Who's got a thermometer? BTW, the only difference between a oral thermometer and rectal thermometer, is the taste. :-P
I think your moderate idea would work, and as an experiment would be fine. Maybe FeralAir can chime in about his current experience with hanging the rotor from the top. I'm in the process of putting a S type together that'll be heavy. I scrounged a clutch throw-out bearing from a Porsche 930 for the rig to sit atop and not transfer any compression loads onto the outputshaft. I think these things need solid top and bottom support to be safe and stable.
Height- the higher the better- just like hawt, it wants clean air.
Think low speed with Savonius. Your gen will either need to be able to produce at low rpm, or gearing will need to be implemented to get the alt speed up. I think Ghurd suggested a stepper motor for small units.
Fiddle-on, dude.
David
gotwind2:
Hi Damon.
I think you might like this mini vawt constructed from a 'Pringles' tube...
There's even a design for a mini single rotor air core axial alternator.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Pringles-Wind-Turbine-Pleech---Version-One/?ALLSTEPS
There is also a more robust version on the same site - Instructables (it's a bit childish, I love it)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Savonius-Wind-Turbine-or-VAWT-to-make-elec/?ALLSTEPS
Have fun.
Ben.
ghurd:
Imagine how much better the Pringles can would work if he has steel behind the magnets, and wasted less in "too thick" coils beyond the flux.
I am playing with McDonald's soda cups now. :-) Same idea.
G-
DamonHD:
I'm so far off attaching a generator to it you'd never guess.
No, at the moment I'm just trying to make something mechanically workable.
Then I'll probably cheat and try to buy a motor/gen...
My tweaking is coming along, and I may even have something that I can put in the garden to spin by itself tomorrow... What I believe TomW may call "yard art" but in this case becomes "educational toy"!
Rgds
Damon
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