Whitney's Project Report
Bridget Williams and I teamed up this fall and put our heads together to find collaborative interests for our Physics Honors Project. We soon found our mutual fascination for alternative energy and a drive to protect the Earth’s natural environment in whatever ways possible. With some help form Mr. Williams, we decided to research and create our own wind turbine—not the pinwheel-like large white HAWT (Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine) the public is accustomed to viewing—the lesser-known Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. Our goal was to find an alternative method to the first alternative wind generated energy. This relatively new technology sounds great, though the down side tends to be expenses and efficiency, we hoped to tackle those set back with this project. Luckily, Bridget had access to her father who is an engineer and we picked his brain for ideas and a way of carrying out our ideas.
We began our process with extensive research in order to give the VAWT credit where it is deserved. The information about theses new forms of energy is still somewhat questionable due to its lack of popularity. However, all that we did find seemed to point to the VAWT as the clear favorite. Unlike the HAWT, the VAWT’s blades do not have to be aligned with the wind—they can accept wind from any angle. Also, the blades of a VAWT are cheaper to manufacture; the blades are constructed in parts, which increases efficiency. From this research we gathered, next we met to draw up the plans for our own VAWT and consulted with Mr. Williams on our plans. For each individual part, Mr. Williams constructed them to our specifications in the factory that he works in and brought them home for Bridget and me to assemble.
Though this project hasn’t affected anyone outside of Bridget and myself, we hope to influence the younger generations to form an interest in alternative energy usage for the future of our planet. VAWT’s have impacted the lives of Bridget and me though, and helped us further our knowledge of the out of favor turbines.
Finding the correct and most effective and efficient materials for our VAWT proved as the most challenging aspect of the project. Our fist idea was to use flexible lightweight metal for our blades. We had them constructed and assembled only to realize that they we just simply too heavy and quite expensive on large-scale accounts. From there we moved onto experimenting with ladle-like spoons. Not only were the spoons hesitant to catch any amount of wind, but also once we got them moving, they just didn’t produce nearly enough energy. Our end decision came to be on extremely lightweight Balsam wood. Though this might not be practical on a large scale—as the wood would get destroyed in harsh conditions—it was a perfect solution for our small-scale project.
Throughout this experience we’ve ultimately learned that Bridget and I shouldn’t be put in charge of assembling small, important gadgets such as a gearbox—they make us far too frustrated and never seem to want to work for us. But in all seriousness, this project has taught us a lot about teamwork and the extensive procedures that go into creating these alternative energy-producing machines.
Like the solar panel club that was started last year, we thought it might be interesting to have a VAWT/HAWT club at the school. Students could make their own miniature turbines to produce energy. Also it would expose the students with this knowledge so later in life they may take it u pas a career.
With this project as with any new endeavor of scientific approach my best suggestion would be to experiment with as many materials as possible and find which provides the best results. Also, custom building and construction of the turbine presents one with the most flexible ways in which to experiment. One last suggestion is to give more time so that we could have mapped out results in different seasons and locations track data and find where and when is the most effective time and place to use it.
