Electricity Wind Turbine Science Fair Projects

Wind Turbine Science Fair Projects

Blade designs are going to impact how much energy a windmill will be able to produce. These projects are quite common. To make your project stand out you will need to be innovative and creative.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to determine how the length and angle that a wind turbine blade is mounted would affect the amount of electricity produced.

I became interested in this idea when on the news I heard about the need for renewable energy sources and wind power was one of them.

The information gained from this experiment would help engineers design more efficient blades for wind turbines.

This also makes a great project for classrooms, science camps and groups. Check out the discount prices.

HYPOTHESIS

My first hypothesis was that the wind turbine with the blades mounted at a forty-five degree angle would produce the most electricity.

I base my first hypothesis on the fact that a blade mounted at a zero or ninety degree angle will not create any or little movement so a blade mounted at forty-five degrees (half way in between) will probably work the best.

My second hypothesis was that the wind turbine with the longer blades would produce the most electricity.

I base my second hypothesis on a website called "Ventura County Science Fair Lab Report: Optimizing Windmill Blade Efficiency" that states, "Larger blades have a greater swept area and thus catch more wind with each revolution.

EXPERIMENT DESIGN

The constants in this study were:

The number of blades each turbine had (3).
The wind speed.
The wind source (electric fan).
The amount of time each blade design was tested (30 seconds)
The DC motor used.
The basic wind turbine tower.
The materials used to make each blade.
The direction the wind source is blowing.
The room in which the experiment took place.
The multimeter used to measure electricity.

The manipulated variables were the length, and angle that the blades were mounted on the wind turbine.

The responding variable was the amount of electricity produced from the DC motor hooked up to the wind turbine.

To measure the responding variable I used a multimeter that used milli-volts to measure the amount of electricity produced.

MATERIALS

When you compare the windmill's blade length and angle for science fair projects, does it show a difference in electrical energy? See the continuation of this abstract to find out.