1. Wind Turbine Presentation
By: David, Alex, and Matt

2. Explanation
In this project our group had to make a mini wind turbine to generate power. We used household materials to create wind turbine blades with the most efficiency possible. We used fans to generate the wind, so we would have a constant wind velocity. Using resources we found how we could make the best possible design.

3. Airfoils
Airfoils cause the blades to move by creating areas of different pressure by causing some of the air to have to go faster, because it needs to take a longer route. This pressure difference causes the blades to move. We made an airfoil by attaching a pencil to the blades and using packing tape to make a slanted surface.

4. Construction
Obstacles - One obstacle that we faced was that some of the group members not focusing.
Materials - We chose the materials we did (cardboard) because it was lightweight and easy.
Shape - We used an airfoil because of how airfoils cause wind to flow. The blade shape was based off of a real turbines winds.
Number of Blades - We used 3 blades because after doing some research, we concluded that 3 blades would give us the most efficiency.

5. Construction Part 2
Length of Blades - Our blades are pretty long (32 cm) so that they can catch more air.
Pitch of Blade - Our blades have a 10 degree angle. We chose this because it is not too angled so that it has a lot of resistance, but angled enough so it catches air.
Friction - We did not have any problems with friction.
Balance - The blades were balanced because they used the same amount of the same materials.

6. Construction Part 3
Increase of Power Output - We increased our power output by adding airfoils to the original design (because the original design did not move)
Biggest Change - The biggest change was when we added the airfoils and tilted the blades 10 degrees. This caused the blades to actually turn (the volts were .83). The next biggest change was when we moved the turbine 35 cm closer to the fans. This made the volts go up by .46.

7. Concept
Environmental Tradeoffs - Using wind energy instead of coal, natural gas, oil, etc, then it would greatly reduce our carbon emissions. Some challenges could includes; lack of useable space, storing the energy for later, cost of turbines, etc.
Energy Source - In the United States, most of the energy (65%) was created using fossil fuels. 6% of the United States energy was from wind power. This is an increase from In Kentucky 92% of our energy was from coal.

8. Concept Part 2
How Wind is Made And Where Turbines Are Placed - Wind is caused by a difference in pressure in the atmosphere. The mid-western United States has the windiest weather. The united states has an offshore wind farm in Maine, because Maine is one of the windiest coastal regions.
Turbine Limitations - Turbines can never be 100% efficient. In fact, they can only be 59.3 percent efficient. This is because in order for the turbine to be 100% efficiency it would have to stop all wind from passing its blades, and that is physically impossible.

9. Concept Part 3
Variability - We can deal with the variability of wind turbines by making wind turbines as efficient as possible, and making batteries to store the power in. We could also invest in nuclear energy, which is clean and runs constantly.

10. Data
1st Test We did not have tilted blades or airfoiled blades so the blades did not spin
2nd Test (tilted the blades 10 degrees and added an airfoil)
Volts with 30 ohm resistor - .83
Radius of blades - 32 cm
Distance from fan cm

11. Data Part 2
3rd Test We flipped the blades around because we thought it would help. It caused the turbine to not spin.
4th Test (spread apart the blades more evenly and moved the turbine closer)
Volts with 30 ohm resistor
Radius of blades - 32 cm
Distance from fan cm
Our final efficiency - 2.3%

12. Resources
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