Not so easy it seems… Windmill Energy

Introductions

Device Design Overview

Final Material List 0.5m x 0.5m plywood 2 2x4s Metal rod Dowel rod 2 Basketball cups 550 ft of wire 4 ceramic block magnets Nails / Clips / Glue

Electrical/Mechanical Aspects Generator Version 7.0 Max Voltage: 1.7 Initial designs: Cardboard Box, PVC pipe Windmill Version 2.0 Initial Design: Cans instead of Cups

Efficiency Wind Speed = 10 m/s at 6 inch from fan Power = 0.5 x air density x area exposed to wind x velocity cubed Given that our area is 14 in^2, or 0.00903224 meters^2, the maximum power is 5.53 watts. Our generator produced 0.0017 Watts, giving an efficiency of (0.0017 / 5.53) * 100 = 0.0307%

Construction Issues Magnet alignment inside the generator Connecting the windmill shaft to the generator shaft Structure of the generator Initial windmill design did not spin fast enough General friction of moving parts

Conclusions