The final lab we completed for this project was a wind turbine lab. We learned about different types of wind turbines and what they are used for. This lab was supposed to give us an idea for an alternative energy source for our outdoor space. For this lab we were asked to create a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) and a HAWT (horizontal axis wind turbine) that could successfully produce energy on low, medium, and high wind speeds. To simulate the winds we used a desk fan with two settings and a leaf blower.
This project was very challenging, so my group ended up focusing solely on the VAWT. We designed two versions, one with cup-like blades and the other with box shaped blades. We tested both and the box shaped blades performed better than the others. We also tried the same design but with shorter and longer sticks. The shorter sicks worked better because that allowed most of the air to be centered on the actual blade. We concluded that for a VAWT, deeper box-shaped blades created the most voltage out of all the blades we tested.
Here is a picture of one of our VAWTs: