Hi sadiq! Good job...highly impressed with your logical thinking. Do you know that you can actually drive the same alternator we use in cars to charge our car batteries with the wind turbine you are building? I don't know but I think this may be the easiest way to go.
The car alternator generates 3phase AC voltages when the engine is running. The 3 phase ac is then rectified to Dc voltage. The dc voltage is then used to charge the car battery. There is a control ( contacts) to stop the overcharging of the battery...pls see an auto electrician for this.

The real wind turbine technology is a little bit complex because of the variations in the wind speed, because you would wan't your generated AC voltage to be kept at a constant frequency eg 50 HZ. I hope this helps? Let me know if further assistance is needed.

Let describe a simple wind turbine operation:

*hmm hmm, clears throat*

Like shown in sadiq's diagram, the shaft connecting to the blades is coupled to the rotor of an electric motor.
the rotary action generates some currents (AC) to the stator, don't forget an exciter will be included to generate an initial current.

The winding ratio of rotor to stator will be carefully selected. the AC generated is converted to DC, i.e. consumable energy.

To generate more power, do these:
- get more blades to keep the shaft turning or include an idler/wheel with good weight n xtics
- get mote wind turbines to turn, cos u can't influence the wind xtics
- calculate ur windings and motor features
- balance cost and quality.
- get a good rest after each day's work.

just my 2 cents from the surface, i'll type more details later.

asunaobi: Hi sadiq! Good job...highly impressed with your logical thinking. Do you know that you can actually drive the same alternator we use in cars to charge our car batteries with the wind turbine you are building? I don't know but I think this may be the easiest way to go.
The car alternator generates 3phase AC voltages when the engine is running. The 3 phase ac is then rectified to Dc voltage. The dc voltage is then used to charge the car battery. There is a control ( contacts) to stop the overcharging of the battery...pls see an auto electrician for this.

The real wind turbine technology is a little bit complex because of the variations in the wind speed, because you would wan't your generated AC voltage to be kept at a constant frequency eg 50 HZ. I hope this helps? Let me know if further assistance is needed.

Thanks bro!
The car alternator is actually reqires high RPM to produce any tangible electricity, about 3000RPM at leaset, the wind I am working with can't produce that. Thanks for the contribution

Dambudzo: I am an Electrical engineer whose focus area is power systems. If you need any help drop a message. Don't use an amplifier, from the electric motor use a step up transformer. With a transformer you don't worry about bias voltages. Another thing, are you going to be generating 3 phase voltages or single phase voltages ? This part is important when it comes to what kind of transformer you will need.

Hi! Sorry I missed out on your little convo with mynd_44
I want to stick to DC and keep it simple, so no transformers. Is amplifier different from a double/boost converter? If they are the same then why shouldn't I use it?
Please mail me if you can at sadikk99@yahoo.com

كلورين:
Thanks bro!
The car alternator is actually reqires high RPM to produce any tangible electricity, about 3000RPM at leaset, the wind I am working with can't produce that. Thanks for the contribution


Hi! Sorry I missed out on your little convo with mynd_44
I want to stick to DC and keep it simple, so no transformers. Is amplifier different from a double/boost converter? If they are the same then why shouldn't I use it?
Please mail me if you can at sadikk99@yahoo.com

You've got mail

Mynd_44:
You've got mail

You've got mail.

swtchicgurl: Let describe a simple wind turbine operation:

*hmm hmm, clears throat*

Like shown in sadiq's diagram, the shaft connecting to the blades is coupled to the rotor of an electric motor.
the rotary action generates some currents (AC) to the stator, don't forget an exciter will be included to generate an initial current.

The winding ratio of rotor to stator will be carefully selected. the AC generated is converted to DC, i.e. consumable energy.

To generate more power, do these:
- get more blades to keep the shaft turning or include an idler/wheel with good weight n xtics
- get mote wind turbines to turn, cos u can't influence the wind xtics
- calculate ur windings and motor features
- balance cost and quality.
- get a good rest after each day's work.

just my 2 cents from the surface, i'll type more details later.

Thanks, for the help. Keep them coming.

كلورين:
You've got mail.

You've got mail.

Stepper motor anybody?
Can somebody enlighten me alil bit on them. I know they are low RPM motors, but would they work? I want to use a booast circute together with it.

purpinkx:
Am not talking of Tv amplifier ... My mistake though .. The name z voltage doubler

A closer look at your recommended circuit still brings us the same problem. The input is AC and the output is obviously DC because of diode rectification. I don't know much about voltage multipliers but don't they also rely on AC input? How will the designer generate the required AC input?

Tony Spike:

A closer look at your recommended circuit still brings us the same problem. The input is AC and the output is obviously DC because of diode rectification. I don't know much about voltage multipliers but don't they also rely on AC input? How will the designer generate the required AC input?

That's why I was asking the difference between amplifier/doubler/boost conveter.
I know though the boost is used to increase/decrease dc-dc voltage. So no need for AC.

There are a lot of materials on the internet these days to help you too. Nonetheless, this forum will help you step by step along the way. since you have finished your feasibility studies, I suggest you start building and ask questions about troubles u encounter along the way, we can throw in one or two helpful suggestions from experience (I don forget plenty tinz sha)
And sorry to digress, did you use AutoCAD '12 or Google sketch for the Turbine diagram u posted?

The_Matrix: There are a lot of materials on the internet these days to help you too. Nonetheless, this forum will help you step by step along the way. since you have finished your feasibility studies, I suggest you start building and ask questions about troubles u encounter along the way, we can throw in one or two helpful suggestions from experience (I don forget plenty tinz sha)
And sorry to digress, did you use AutoCAD '12 or Google sketch for the Turbine diagram u posted?

Thanks, the internet has helped me to the greatest. however, there are things I can't find locally. That's why I am here, so that I'll find people with alternatives. I have started building, and encountered a problem, the motor!
I used google sketchup.

Hello Sadiq,

I just saw ur post after a friend (who posted earlier on pg 1) told me abt it. Well done, keep it up.

I did works on wind turbine in my undergraduate project and I have followed the technology passionately for over 6 years. I'm quick to notice that u haven't provided some basics before you selves Into construction.

1. What's d average windspeed of d area/site u plan mounting it?

2. What's d surface roughness class?

3. What's d cut-in speed and cut-out speed of d turbine?

4. Have you done your material strength analysis for d blades?

5. What's d blade tip speed ratio?

These r some of d basic info I think you will need even before you go ahead to construct. But ASSUMING u hav done these, then I understand the mix up between electric motor and generator. Usually, AC generators are more used. DC motors have limited use. That does not mean that it won't work though. An experienced electrician can explain better.

I can see that its a roof type u plan to construct, although I don't know what height u have selected to mount it and type of buildings and vegetation around u. I will also ask dt u consider needle bearings for d yaw assembly against roller balls bearing because of losses since d load is not much.

I may not b able to say much more than ds for now based on d scanty info I hav from ur posts so far.

For d power amplification, go to oshodi under bridge where Igbo guys sell electronics parts and components, usually there r electronics technicians there who can virtually help u construct any circuitry as long as u can explain urself clearly.

Wish u well.

كلورين:
Thanks bro!
The car alternator is actually reqires high RPM to produce any tangible electricity, about 3000RPM at leaset, the wind I am working with can't produce that. Thanks for the contribution


Hi! Sorry I missed out on your little convo with mynd_44
I want to stick to DC and keep it simple, so no transformers. Is amplifier different from a double/boost converter? If they are the same then why shouldn't I use it?
Please mail me if you can at sadikk99@yahoo.com

Why don't you want to use AC ? Most boosters l know use amplifiers like BJTs. You can just have AC voltage and then connect it to a transformer.

Saddiq ... Start working lets not be here arguing whether to use A.c or D.c .. I vote D.c (doubler tinx) o ...

.

homerac7: Hello Sadiq,

I just saw ur post after a friend (who posted earlier on pg 1) told me abt it. Well done, keep it up.

I did works on wind turbine in my undergraduate project and I have followed the technology passionately for over 6 years. I'm quick to notice that u haven't provided some basics before you selves Into construction.

1. What's d average windspeed of d area/site u plan mounting it?

2. What's d surface roughness class?

3. What's d cut-in speed and cut-out speed of d turbine?

4. Have you done your material strength analysis for d blades?

5. What's d blade tip speed ratio?

These r some of d basic info I think you will need even before you go ahead to construct. But ASSUMING u hav done these, then I understand the mix up between electric motor and generator. Usually, AC generators are more used. DC motors have limited use. That does not mean that it won't work though. An experienced electrician can explain better.

I can see that its a roof type u plan to construct, although I don't know what height u have selected to mount it and type of buildings and vegetation around u. I will also ask dt u consider needle bearings for d yaw assembly against roller balls bearing because of losses since d load is not much.

I may not b able to say much more than ds for now based on d scanty info I hav from ur posts so far.

For d power amplification, go to oshodi under bridge where Igbo guys sell electronics parts and components, usually there r electronics technicians there who can virtually help u construct any circuitry as long as u can explain urself clearly.

Wish u well.

Some of the things you mentioned actually can't be gotten till the turbine is already built.
Average wind speed is betwwn 3-4mph (bauchi)
Surface roughness- well, there are tall buildings around (obviously its a shool enviroment), tall trees, generally a lot of structures.
Cut in spped- I believe that's determined when the turbine is already built with the help of an aneometer( I don't have one)
Cut out speed- that depends on my furling calculation, haven't been able to do it because I need the weight of my turbine to do that, I have no motor so I don't know what the weight is going to be, don't want to assume and end up being off totally.
I have not done the strength analysis for the blade I believe it should be strong enough to withstand the stresses however I will have to do it later for my report.
I did this calculation, its in my lapi, no electricity so can't get it for you. ( It is generally assumed to be 6 for a 3 blade turbine which is what I want to do). Mine was below 6

Giving my dilema, as an expert in this field what would you recomend I do?
Any advice would be useful.
The kind of ac/dc motors you tink I should use
The slip rings
Should I use a pulley system

I would appreciate if you mailed me at sadikk99@yahoo.com
Thanks

Dambudzo:


Why don't you want to use AC ? Most boosters l know use amplifiers like BJTs. You can just have AC voltage and then connect it to a transformer.

If I should use AC I would need circutry to change it back to DC to charge my battreys, the circuits would be too much, besides from most of the reserch I have done online DC motors are ALWAYS used.
But say I would use an AC motor, which would you recommend?

purpinkx: Saddiq ... Start working lets not be here arguing whether to use A.c or D.c .. I vote D.c (doubler tinx) o ...

Believe me no one wants to get going with this work as much as I want to, but it wouldn't be wise to just jump in and start only to find out when your halfway through, something cannot just work. That's wasted time, effort, money. Something I don't have a lot of.
But as soon as I work out this motor issue, believe me, it'll be hard to keep up.

Wow...wow...wow...

Bro, I guess u hav ur cart before the horse. U normally do all those calculations before u go on to select ur materials and determine d blade dimensions. If you can't even be sure of the wind speed and quality on site u want to use it, it appears you have been guess working wc is not good when working with wind because Its d most treacherous among all the renewable energy sources. It's highly site specific, so a turbine performance in Bauchi may not b same in Abeokuta or Dutse. In fact, d first data set u need before proceeding on design are your average windspeed, humidity and temperature and surface roughness class. The first 3 u can get ESTIMATE values for your locality from NIMET or ur climatology section of Geography department if such exists. Based on d data u get ur wind quantity and quality which is what helps u to derive ur availability and cut-in speed and cut-out speed ( these after u have done ur material selection against d energy available in d wind over ur availability period). By now you can calculate ur blade tip ratio and select ur angle of attack. At ds stage, d surface area of d blade can be calculated easily and from there u can select ur length of blade. At ds point u would also have known d wind force expected against ur blades and height u can harvest best wind quality and quantity.

U were mentioning "6", I guess that's ur tip speed ration. With that I expect a not-so-broad blade but slightly long designed to run fast under low wind. That u have chose 3 blades shows u want slightly more torque at speed expense. Good selection, I say.

Back to my earlier analysis, its at point of design of d prime mover (turbine) dt u were supposed to have selected and matched it with load torque requirements. Again, the calculations would help u to determine the RPM of the designed turbine. All these parameters u can alter to suite the characteristics of d generator or final load. It's at end of these that u go on and start construction based on ur earlier design.

Now, I can only hope along with you that ur gamble works. Wind is unlike any other energy source because of its treacherously unpredictability.

Your major concern for now I guess is on generator selection. Well AC motors r more compact than their DC equivalents, what dt means to u is that it will require lesser torque. U r faced wt compromise of dt with having extra circuitry for amplification and rectification on downstream side versus higher torque whc will demand higher machine (turbine) size.

On issue if u should use slip ring motor or not, only DC motors/generators use slip rings.

And on using speed improvement/reduction drive train, I want u to remember dt if u increase speed, u will lose torque; and if u reduce speed, u gain torque. Consider also the attendant losses to friction, slip and elasticity (since I saw in ur drawing a belt and pulley arrangement). For bigger power transmission, those r minor losses, but for a smaller arrangement like what u r planning, it becomes significant and reflects on ur final output.

loving the replies I'm seeing here....don't have much to say since I'm an undergraduate of the same field.....goodluck on your project and hope you get the desired grade you worked hard for........pls, you can check my thread here for some help
https://www.nairaland.com/976112/industrial-training
thanks

كلورين:


If I should use AC I would need circutry to change it back to DC to charge my battreys, the circuits would be too much, besides from most of the reserch I have done online DC motors are ALWAYS used.
But say I would use an AC motor, which would you recommend?

You can always use a simple AC-DC converter. A diode rectifier can easily do that.

asunaobi: Hi sadiq! Good job...highly impressed with your logical thinking. Do you know that you can actually drive the same alternator we use in cars to charge our car batteries with the wind turbine you are building? I don't know but I think this may be the easiest way to go.
The car alternator generates 3phase AC voltages when the engine is running. The 3 phase ac is then rectified to Dc voltage. The dc voltage is then used to charge the car battery. There is a control ( contacts) to stop the overcharging of the battery...pls see an auto electrician for this.

The real wind turbine technology is a little bit complex because of the variations in the wind speed, because you would wan't your generated AC voltage to be kept at a constant frequency eg 50 HZ. I hope this helps? Let me know if further assistance is needed.

yes car alternator is okay but u have to take into consideration the minimum amount of speed/rpm to generate voltage,those alternators dont just produce voltage except a minimum threshold of rpm is achieved and u may or may not expect the wind speed to be contant all the tyme.
someone sujested geared dc motor with high speed gear ratio (i.e a slight turn at the drive gear will produce much amplified movement on the driven gear/output shaft but with less torque).

كلورين:
Oh shoot! You mean if I get say a 24volt with about 200 steps stepper motor I can't get 7 out of it?
I wanted to use an inverter, so I use it to power an energy saving bulb. But decided not to, I haven't really decided yet what to use it to power, because that's not an issue, I can come up with anything at the end, its 12v from a battery.
Which motor would you suggest I get?
Please mail me at sadikk99@yahoo.com

sadique u cant use stepper motor on ventures like this,stepper motors have minimum 4 wires (bipolar stepper motor),5 wires (Unipolar stepper motor) and 6 wires (Universal stepper motor),so stepper motor is not an ideal motor for such. u can get dc motors from old VHS cassette players or recorders more especially National,Funai or Toshiba B1,B2 videos players but the flaws is the rpm stuff,u can generate voltage from them when u just simply turm them with your hand and a DMM athached to its 2 wires leads.in such case this is where the gear thingy comes into play to amplify the rotational movement from the blades before feeding it to the Dc motor this tyme with more rpm.

Sorry guys, my subscribtion finished with no warning. With the whole curfew thingy, one can't just go out any how.
So I went shopping for motor today, found some interesting choices.
Would upload the pics later when I get home.

homerac7: Wow...wow...wow...

Bro, I guess u hav ur cart before the horse. U normally do all those calculations before u go on to select ur materials and determine d blade dimensions. If you can't even be sure of the wind speed and quality on site u want to use it, it appears you have been guess working wc is not good when working with wind because Its d most treacherous among all the renewable energy sources. It's highly site specific, so a turbine performance in Bauchi may not b same in Abeokuta or Dutse. In fact, d first data set u need before proceeding on design are your average windspeed, humidity and temperature and surface roughness class. The first 3 u can get ESTIMATE values for your locality from NIMET or ur climatology section of Geography department if such exists. Based on d data u get ur wind quantity and quality which is what helps u to derive ur availability and cut-in speed and cut-out speed ( these after u have done ur material selection against d energy available in d wind over ur availability period). By now you can calculate ur blade tip ratio and select ur angle of attack. At ds stage, d surface area of d blade can be calculated easily and from there u can select ur length of blade. At ds point u would also have known d wind force expected against ur blades and height u can harvest best wind quality and quantity.

U were mentioning "6", I guess that's ur tip speed ration. With that I expect a not-so-broad blade but slightly long designed to run fast under low wind. That u have chose 3 blades shows u want slightly more torque at speed expense. Good selection, I say.

Back to my earlier analysis, its at point of design of d prime mover (turbine) dt u were supposed to have selected and matched it with load torque requirements. Again, the calculations would help u to determine the RPM of the designed turbine. All these parameters u can alter to suite the characteristics of d generator or final load. It's at end of these that u go on and start construction based on ur earlier design.

Now, I can only hope along with you that ur gamble works. Wind is unlike any other energy source because of its treacherously unpredictability.

Your major concern for now I guess is on generator selection. Well AC motors r more compact than their DC equivalents, what dt means to u is that it will require lesser torque. U r faced wt compromise of dt with having extra circuitry for amplification and rectification on downstream side versus higher torque whc will demand higher machine (turbine) size.

I'll upload the calculations later

This is an induction motor
Gear ratio- 1/4.6
115v 50/60Hz 20uf
40w 200/250rpm 1.4A

Magnet pump
But the pump side would be removed
24VDC
1.46A
I don't know the rpm

This is a DC motor but don't have the specifications.

This is a booster bump
It is DC
All I know it is 24 VDc

This is AC
115VAC 50Hz
575rpm
Its a geared motor

Here's the plan, I'll go back tomorrow with a meter, then connect it to the terminals, rotated the motor and see the amount of voltage I can get, the one with highest wins!!
I know it sounds alil bit quacky, but I have to improvice a bit, naija factor.