Possible Experiment Objectives
With the help of some accessories, like the Light and Music Module (LM-1) and the Visual Voltmeter, (VM-1), the Energy Monitor (EM-1) and Resistive Load, you can demonstrate the following experiments with the turbine easily:
1. How much wind is required to start the wind turbine at different conditions
2. The wind is never steady (with the Visual Voltmeter and Energy Monitor)
3. The wind direction changes all the time
4. The vane aligns the turbine towards the wind (take away the vane?)
5. The output voltage is highest when the turbine faces the wind
6. How many blades and what pitch angle are best for start up
7. How many blades is more efficient at low and high wind speed
8. What is the optimum blade pitch at low and high wind speed
9. The output voltage is proportional to the wind speed
10. Wind Power is proportional to the cube of the wind speed
11. The rotation speed of the turbine is proportional to the wind speed
12. Rotation speed of turbine reduces when load is connected
13. There are noises and vibrations when the turbine operates
14. How generated electricity can be stored (in Gold Capacitor and rechargeable battery)
15. Demonstrate that the stored electricity can be used (with the Light and Music Module)
16. You may connect different electrical loads, e.g. DC motor, resistors, capacitors, light bulbs
17. You may also integrate the turbine with solar panel to see how they complement each other in real situations (with Solar Panel and Energy Station) to charge rechargeable batteries
18. You may test the Wind Farm concept to see how the output power of different wind turbines is affected when they are connected in parallel or in series
19. You may change the blade and vane parameters to see the output changes under different wind speed conditions
20. Is the vane effective and what is the shape and minimum size to be effective
21. You may use computer learning systems to record and analyze the performance of the turbine for further learning
Energy Monitor (EM-1) is a great tool for doing these experiments.
3-Phase AC Alternator
WindLab can generate electricity at low wind speed. It operates on a small 3-Phase AC Alternator (motor generator). The AC electricity is rectified to DC electricity which can be stored in the Gold Capacitor inside the turbine or sent to the output connector directly. 3-Phase Alternators are more powerful than DC motor generators. The life time of 3-Phase motor generators is much longer because they do not have copper brush contacts (commutator) that wear with time.