Wing Energy Lab Report

Evelin Bahena

Mr. Reimer/ Ms. Townsend

Chemistry- Period 5

April 20,2015

Wing Energy Lab

Beginning Ideas The purpose of this lab is to see how many blades on a windmill will create the most voltage. Another purpose of this lab is to find out at what blade angle will the windmill create the most voltage. Wind energy has been used for thousands of years because it is a renewable source; therefore, the wind power will never run out. WInd energy had been put into use by 5000 BC ,and simple windmills in China were used for pumping water, and vertical-axis windmills were grinding grain in the Middle East. The new technology of wind energy was taken to the New World in the 19th century for pumping usage and to generate electricity for homes and

The windmill’s blades will benefit the most if the blades are at a 10 degree angle because it created the highest voltage at 0.33 volts. The blades were also placed at 20 degrees, 30 degrees, 40 degrees, 50 degrees, and 60 degrees in tests part 2. However, all of the angles created volts of 0.21 volts, 0.20 volts, 0.19 volts, 0.14 volts, and 0.16 volts, which is less than 0.33 volts. The windmill will create its highest voltage with 6 blades because it created the highest voltage with 0.27 volts. The blades placed on the hub varied in test part 3. The number of blades varied between 1 blade placed on the hub and 6 blades. One blade, two blades, three blades, four blades, and five blades created volts of 0.01 volts, 0.13 volts, 0.23 volts, 0.25 volts, and 0.15 volts, which is less than 0.27 volts with 6 blades. A mistake that might have affected the lab was the blade angle each trial was placed at because all of the angles might have not been equal. Another mistake that might have affected the lab as well might have been the distance from the hub because the blades were rectangular and long; therefore, it might have slowed down the

The blades lift and rotate as the wind blow over them, which causes the rotor to spin. The brake stops the rotor. The controller starts up the turbine at wind speeds of 8 to 16 miles per hour and stops functioning at 55 miles per hour. The generator produces 60-cycle AC electricity. The high-speed shaft drives the generator while the low-speed shaft turns the low-speed shaft at 30-60 rpm. The nacelle is on top of the tower and contains the gear box, low and high speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake.The pitch turns the blades out of the wind in order to control the rotor speed. The rotor is the blades and hub placed together. The wind direction determines the way that the wind turbine is created. The wind vane measures the wind directions and deals with the yaw drive.The yaw drive makes sure the turbine faces the direction the wind is going when it changes. Lastly, the yaw motor makes sure that the yaw drive is