Got Root ?

[willib]

some may have seen this image  before , they dont look happy but i think it would be fun.

proof of concept ?

 Most blades dont even have a root , let alone one with a 24" chord but this is gonna be real cool.

i've been playing with a slightly different shape than the usual one , but i could easily  make it 'normal' at this point .

after this step i'm gonna use a hot wire on this setup

speak up if you would like some of those mahogany plywood shapes

i'm also toying with the idea to make a whole section with a 24" chord ,

[willib]

i got one section of one blade done .

this blade has a tsr of 6 hence , 18.9 degrees down the centerline of the chord , for the first section..

the chord is 24"

i was gonna make the second station 18" , but i wanted to see what a chord section would look like if the lengths were the same.

it's a bit rough looking but a little sandpaper can cure that

i used a hot wire to cut the foam it worked real well. the last two pics show the twist the best i think..

[SmoggyTurnip]

Great pics,

What size are these blades going to be?

.

[paradigmdesign]

Definatlly looking better.  Now isn't using that hot knife like x 1,000,000 easier, and faster than sanding the mofos.  Did you buy the knife or did you build it, and do u have any pics?

Not sure if you care, but I just got in contact with someone on this board that will cut out the airfoil sections with a CNC machine from steel really cheap.  I can give you his email if you want. I don't know if you were getting as board with cutting out 100's of airfoil sections yet or not, but I am ready to have a computer do it!

Good work, and keep up the progress.  Us "composite blade" guys need to stick together.

[willib]

3m dia , 9.8'

[willib]

The way i see it ,you only need 12 airfoil sections per three blades , including  three root sections , one for each blade

in other words after your done with the set you will still have 9 sections left over

[hvirtane]

Seen this?

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2005/12/29/205319/65

- Hannu

[willib]

I've got three done , (root sections )and am going to test them out tomorrow ,its gonna be wicked windy around here tomorrow.

i still have six holes to drill in the hub, so i can insert some threaded rod to hold them. and two still need to be put  onto the mounts.

but i have all three mounts constructed with a temporary root section

[willib]

i got all three on their mounts , and all six holes in the hub drilled and tapped ,

all thats left is to assemble  and test it !!

and it should be windy till eight o'clock tonight

just gotta go get some screws at the store.

[willib]

i'm soaked to the bone, it was pouring rain out there.

but the wind was blowing hard.. and the root section worked perfectly.

i'm not sure if it was because my hands were wet ,but i couldnt stop it from turning when the wind was going..

i'll post some pics when i dry off.

[willib]

Thats 8" from the center of rotation to the blade root .

 i wanted to make sure i cleared the generator when they were done , but i might have overdone it. i could still take them in an inch or so.

of course they wont clear the pole holding up the mini gen but i needed a place to hold them to take this pic..

[willib]

this is a side view





a view down the length of the blade





please note that the thin plywood i used as the inner root section will be replaced with thicker plywood , but i wanted to make sure the placement of the mounts was ok..

[willib]

the hub.





the blade mounts are made of 3/8- 24 theraded rod from bicycle wheels  (rear).





this shows the connection to the hub , it allows me to dissassemble it fairly easily for testing.

the back is a similer HD platten which i have tapped to recieve the six  bolts which come through from the front..it is a real rigid setup.





on the inside are similar nuts which hold the blades in place

this was all done with no lathe just a drill press.

[willib]

i havent done any blending yet

the second station is done (on one blade)

[willib]

i'm wondering what  anyone would pay for a set of these when they're done?

i just need to get a few more sections cut out.

i'm thinking of selling them unglassed , but not sure at this point.

as i stated the other day , just the root section had massive torque.

what do you think?

[willib]

just to update yall i've got all second segments done

 and just have one section to go on the third blade, five more inches.

the blades will be  7.75' dia, after they are done ..