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Science Fair Wind Generator


By MikeR, Section Homebrewed Electricity
Posted on Fri Nov 21st, 2003 at 05:41:23 PM MST
I am a fifth grade girl who built this.......

Hi,my name is Kathryn. I saw the small wind mill on your experiments page and decided to build a wind generator for my science fair project. My project was to find if different rotors make a difference and if so which rotors worked best. I used airplane propellers mounted backwards. I compared several pitches of two blade props, one three blade prop, and one blade from a desk fan. I used a hobby motor from Radio Shack for the generator. We tested it by mounting it out in front of my dad's car. It didn't make much power, but the purpose was to compare rotors. Here is a picture of my wind generator flying above my treehouse.

Here is a summary of the data results.

This was a really cool project and a lot of fun. Oh, by the way, I got 100! Now I want to build a bigger one.

Thanks for the great website.
Science Fair Wind Generator | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 editorial)

Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (3.00 / 0) (#12)
by aditya on Fri Feb 25th, 2005 at 10:09:04 PM MST
(User Info)

hey kathryn,

well, this is 2005, i dont know whether u will even check this.

I just wanted to tell u that ur a very bright kid, and the generator u built is pretty impressive. Am doing engineering now and its only now that am doing a detailed study about it!!!

Keep up the good work and I hope science doesnt lose a student like u :)



Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#1)
by zubbly on Fri Nov 21st, 2003 at 06:24:25 PM MST
(User Info) www.zubbly.com

hello Kathryn!

     i must say and i think that all will agree that your little genny is quite impressive. it is not so much the output that counts, but the experience of building it and bringing your ideas to a useful purpose. oh, and those few watts that you did get, well it may not charge a very big battery, but it was plenty to brighten my life a little.

keep having a great time!       zubbly



Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#2)
by DanB (danb@*no spam*otherpower.com) on Fri Nov 21st, 2003 at 07:01:08 PM MST
(User Info) http://www.otherpower.com/

Thats super...
so am I to understand that the 2 blade prop with the flattest pitch wins here?

Pretty neat... as neat as the windmill is the good data you got on different prop configurations.  Congratulations!!!!



Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#7)
by MikeR on Sat Nov 22nd, 2003 at 07:23:23 PM MST
(User Info)

Dan,
Yes, the two blade prop with three inch pitch produced the most power. Maybe one with a lower pitch would be better, but I didn't have one to test. Also I learned that the airfoil on the back of the prop is backwards with the sharp edge leading.

Both of the three blade props started the soonest. The fan blade starts spinning with very little wind but is so inefficient the speed levels out very quickly, limiting the power output.

Kathryn

[ Parent ]



Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (3.00 / 0) (#11)
by marquin (michael@kidwind.org) on Mon Jun 21st, 2004 at 09:37:09 AM MST
(User Info) http://www.kidwind.org

Mike R....

Very neat small project turbine...

I run a small educational non profit called kidwind (http://www.kidwind.org) that is trying to put more wind energy science into classrooms...

I was wondering what you did with your daughters project after it was completed...if you are looking for a place where it can live on to education many others might I be so bold as to take it off your hands...

I could pay you for materials and shipping if that is needed...I just thought it was really neat and want to share with other teachers at my workshops....

I totally understand if you do not want to part with it....but I thought I would give it a shot...

Michael Arquin

[ Parent ]



Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#3)
by kww on Fri Nov 21st, 2003 at 08:29:57 PM MST
(User Info)

Great wind turbine Kathryn, I can tell you give most teachers a hard time. :-)  Keep it up, it's those things YOU have an interrest in that will lead you to your greatest potential.
Kevin


Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#4)
by windstuffnow (elenz(at)windstuffnow(dot)com) on Fri Nov 21st, 2003 at 08:38:04 PM MST
(User Info) http://www.windstuffnow.com/main

  I must say Kathryn, thats far nicer than the ones I built when I started out!!! That's a fine piece of work... !!!

Keep up the great work!  Most of all Have fun!

Ed
Have Fun! Windstuff Ed



Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#5)
by cevonk (cevonk(atsignhere)aol.com) on Fri Nov 21st, 2003 at 11:15:56 PM MST
(User Info)

That is a very nice machine!  The graph is very interesting to study, too.  Now I see why fan blades are used on fans instead of propellers.  I always wondered about that.  Thanks for teaching me something.

Keep at it!

Eric



Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#6)
by RobD on Sat Nov 22nd, 2003 at 03:39:36 AM MST
(User Info) http://www.dsgnspec.com

Cool!
RobD


Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#8)
by charged on Sun Nov 23rd, 2003 at 04:23:28 AM MST
(User Info)

Nice work. It looks better then my first "wind machine".

I was 9 years old and trying to bring a thin sheet of plywood panelling into the garage from the pickup bed. Suffice to say that it was a very windy day and I got thrown about 15 feet sideways off the tailgate! I marvelled at the power in that one gust.

Thus was born my fascination with tapping into nature's fury.

You might want to try making a savonius turbine for one of your experiments. The simplest way is to cut a 5 gallon plastic drum (kerosene containers from Walmart) right down the middle. For these small ones you can use some wood, bolts and thin steel rod without too much worry of it coming apart.

Stay on the path.



Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#9)
by ADMIN (info74 at otherpower.com) on Sun Nov 23rd, 2003 at 10:37:04 AM MST
(User Info)

I agree -- congratulations on your project. And even more congratulations on your data acquisition and graphing! Looks very professional. I'd go for a 4 footer next!
ADMIN


Re: Science Fair Wind Generator (none / 0) (#10)
by crazyrob on Tue May 18th, 2004 at 01:14:36 PM MST
(User Info)

What type of hobby motor did you use?


Science Fair Wind Generator | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 editorial)
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