Wind Turbine

Published on 05 Jul 2021. Written by Athulya Menon

Humans have been living on Earth for over two thousand years now. Science and technology have helped make our lives easier. But with more comfort and ease, comes some negative aspects. These adverse effects have mainly been towards the ecology and environment.

Most of our resources are running dry, ambient temperatures are at an all-time high, the polar ice-caps are melting, and we are facing severe ecological issues. So what can we do as engineers? We need to look for more environmental-friendly ways to automate things and generate power. In this science project, we will be taking a look at a very green way to make energy.

Project Description

Global Warming is a serious issue that is threatening our ecosystem. It is increasing the average temperatures across all areas of Earth and has also resulted in changing weather patterns around the globe. Making energy in a green way is a good idea to reduce some of the adverse effects of pollution. A great renewable source of energy is wind energy, and it is one that can be harnessed quite easily. In this science project, we will be making a small and simple model of a wind turbine, which converts wind energy into electricity.

Project Implementation

At higher altitudes, winds travel at great speeds. This ensures that such winds carry with them considerable kinetic energy.
This kinetic energy or energy of motion may be used to move large turbines.
The turbines have large coils that are wrapped around a magnet. When the turbines move, the magnetic core moves as well, leading to the generation of electricity due to the principles of electromagnetism.
The first step in making a wind turbine is creating a strong base for the turbine and coil arrangement to sit.
To do so, take some of the ice cream sticks and stick them together. If you want a sturdier base, you can also make use of screws and fasteners.
Stick about ten such sticks beside each other. Once that has dried successfully, glue another ten sticks together on the base you just made, but in the opposite direction.
Ensure that you allow enough time for this arrangement to set. Give it at least 30 minutes to dry.
Since hot glue can harm you, make sure you are extremely careful when using the glue gun.
Once the base has dried, attach the wooden circle onto the nail. Once again, you can do either by using glue or by fasteners.
Use six ice cream sticks to make the blades of the windmill. Attach this to the wooden circle and build the turbine.
Next, fix this arrangement to the wooden plank to finish building the windmill.
Attach the nail to the cardboard tube.
Make sure the nail can freely rotate about the tube because otherwise, it will not be able to generate electricity.
Glue the cardboard tube to the base once the nail is dry.
Attach the magnet to the tube, and coil the magnetic wire around the tube. Leave 5 inches on both sides of the tube while winding the coil.
Tape the wires onto the tube so that they stay in place.
Attach the free end of the coiled wires to the lightbulb.
The arrangement is now complete. Spin the blade and then watch as the lightbulb lights up.

Concepts Used

Basic Mechanics
Energy Transfer
Different forms of energy
Generation of Electricity
Design of Machinery
Kinematics and Dynamics of Machinery
Non-conventional Energy Sources

Components Required

3-inch nail
Cardboard tube
26 wooden sticks
Craft glue
Glue Gun/Super Glue
Wooden circle of 3 inches diameter
5*2-inch wooden plank -6
Small fan
Neodymium magnet
Masking tape
Copper magnet wire
1.5-volt light bulb
Scissors

Kit required to develop Wind Turbine:

Technologies you will learn by working on Wind Turbine:

Wind Turbine

Any Questions?

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