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Wind Turbine
Wind Turbine
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Wind Turbine
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Introduction
The Savonius Wind Turbine
These plans are for the construction of vertical axis wind turbine, modelled after a
design by the Finnish engineer S.J. Savonius in 1922. His idea was to mount two
half-cylinders on a vertical shaft. It was simple to build, and could accept wind from
any direction. However, it was somewhat less efficient than the more common
horizontal axis turbine. The reason for the difference has to do with aerodynamics.
Horizontal axis turbines have blades that create lift to spin the rotor, whereas the
vertical axis design we are using here operates on the basis of dragone side
creates more drag in moving air than the other, causing the shaft spin.
Safety Precautions
Hot glue guns can cause serious burns, as can the glue if it
comes in contact with your skin.
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Wind Turbine
Build It!
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Tools
Materials
Quantity
1
1
120m
(approx.)
4
80 to
100cm
1
1
4
1
1
1
6
1
Item
Sources
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Wind Turbine
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Templates
Instructions: glue this page to cardboard and cut out the shapes with utility knife.
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Wind Turbine
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Construction Steps
Part A. Frame and Base
For this part, you will need:
Tools:
Materials:
Base board (14cm x 25cm)
Uprights (30 cm square dowel, 2 pieces)
Crossbar (20cm square dowel, 1 piece)
Screw
Braces
Round Dowel
1. Use a pencil, ruler, and compass to mark the base board according to the dimensions in the diagram below:
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Wind Turbine
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8. Turn the screw eye into the cross bar at the center
point.
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Wind Turbine
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Wind Turbine
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Materials
Enamelled copper wire (28 gage, 100m)
Corrugated cardboard
Electrical tape
2. Cut 8 pieces of electrical tape, 4cm long each, and
have these ready for the next steps.
4. Slide the first coil off the jig and secure it tightly with
2 of the 8 pieces of electrical tape.
Wind Turbine
5. Slide the next off the jig and secure both sides
with tape. Repeat for the remaining 2 coils.
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Wind Turbine
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C. The Stator
You will need:
Tools
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Electrical Tape
Pliers or scissors
Materials
Completed coils
Light emitting Diode
1. Loosely position all 4 coils on the base as shown in the diagram. Be sure the turns of wire can carry electrons
in a clockwise direction in each coil.
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Wind Turbine
4. Tape or glue any loose wire to the base or frame to
keep it from catching on the turbine.
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D. The Rotor
Tools
Geometry Compass
Utility knife
Nail
Hot glue gun
Ruler
Pencil
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Materials
White glue
Corrugated cardboard or foamboard
Magnets (1 diam. Rare earth, 4)
Washers (4)
Wind Turbine
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Wind Turbine
9. Tip: If you are unsure of the polarity of the magnets,
you can use a magnetic compass to confirm that all the
magnets are either north or south.
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E. The Turbine
You will need:
Tools
Scissors
Utility knife
Hot glue gun
Nail
Sand paper
Materials
1.5L water bottle
Corrugated cardboard
Turbine end piece template
2. When the glue is dry, cut the two turbine end pieces
free from the cardboard using the utility knife.
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Wind Turbine
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Wind Turbine
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F. Final Assembly
You will need:
Tools
Hot glue gun
Screw driver
Materials
Completed rotor disk
Turbine
Frame
Electrical tape
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Wind Turbine
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G. Test It!
You will need:
Tools
Digital voltmeter with probes and clips
Materials
Completed turbine
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Wind Turbine
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Troubleshooting Tips
Problem
Turbine turns too
slowly, or turns with
difficulty
No voltage reading on
voltmeter, or readings
are erratic
Probable Causes
The screw eye is too tight
The pointed end of the dowel
is binding in the screw
Magnets are too weak
Suggested Solutions
Use pliers to enlarge the screw eye, or
replace it with a larger one.
Re-sharpen the dowel, or smooth it with
sandpaper.
Substitute stronger magnets. Use the ultrastrong rare earth magnets NIB available
through various Internet sources, hobby
shops, or Lee Valley Tools.
Set voltmeter for alternating current (AC), or
switch to a digital volt meter with AC setting.
Remove the rotor and re-check the magnets.
They should all be either North or South (not
a mix of both).
Re-check coil orientation. Following the wire
through the circuit, it should spiral through
the first coil in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, and should go the same
direction in each of the other coils.
Re-sand the ends of the wire where they join
the LED. Connect to the volt meter with
alligator clips.
Use the screw to lower the height of the rotor
disk to with 1 mm of the coils.
Check the screw eye, frame, coils, and screw
to ensure nothing is binding or causing
excessive friction. Adjust or re-size as
necessary to get a the turbine to spin freely.
Substitute an LED that activates at 900
millivolts or less.
Untwist the wire from the leads, re-sand, and
twist on tightly, or use solder.
Use rubbing alcohol or soap and water to
remove grease from the washer. Scrub the
surface of the washer with sandpaper and reglue it with a generous blob of hot glue.
Substitute a stronger magnet, or add some
hot glue or instant cyanoacrylate glue to
attach the magnet permanently.
Acknowledgements
The inspiration for the design of this model comes from the ingenious Pico-turbine, published as a free project
plan from http://www.picoturbine.com. PicoTurbine.com is one of the best sources of ideas and resources for
renewable energy education on the Internet.
The Pembina Institute gratefully acknowledges the Ontario Trillium Foundation for their support for the
development of Pembinas work in renewable energy education, and the re-development of these construction
plans.
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