User:Apagnotta41/ProjectThree

Project Preference
1. Wind Turbine 2. Design a new wind turbine 3. Wind Turbine

Problem Statement
''In one or two sentences, describe the project that your group will be working on. Identify what CDIO phase (Conceive, Design, Implement, or Operate) your group will complete in this project cycle.''

Project Plan
Briefly describe your group's plan for the next 4 weeks, including major tasks that will be completed each week.

Week 1 Narrative
The week it was very difficult for our group to do much due to the fact we had to be in the school to accomplish our goals. Our goal is to do extensive testing. However since it was spring break the school was locked up and our turbine was on the inside. So we talked it over and all had our tasks. I offered to make a new shroud and thats what I did. I took our original cylinder idea and modelled it to the best i could do.

I started off with a cone again and cut it to where the base is 4.75 inches.

From there I was a little stumped on how to make it a cylindrical shape. So after thinking about I decided to wrap it in cardboard.



However i ran in to the problem of not being able to find a cardboard piece long enough to wrap around the cone entirely.



I decided to use two pieces of cardboard.



than wrap a piece of tape around it in order to make it one piece in essence. I than just hot glued the cardboard down to the lip of the cone and made a good looking wind shroud that we can now test.



I am looking forward to test this shroud this week and compare it to the rest. I want to see if the shape actually matters or not. Than after we test I am looking forward to trying and redesigning this turbine to make it better.

Week 2 Narrative
During this week we decided that we were going to try and fix the LCD screen so that the data will display on that. Along with that we were going to test the shroud that I created last week. We started off the week wednesday rewiring and soldering in order to get the screen fixed. While zack and Gulraize worked on that we were kind of at a stand still when it came to testing. couple days go by and we still can not get it to work. This lead to not being able to test.

So instead i decided to try and figure out our variable to test. We decicded to test and see if we use the same angle shroud and if we changed the inside if that would make a difference. We want to find out if the spirals are closer together or further apart if it will help produce more watts. I started to brainstorm ideas on how to do this. We are going to use the 3D printed shroud we created drill holes into certain spot use one long piece of a metal molding piece type thing and spiral it around. Then Where we drilled the holes in the top of the brim of the shroud we will hook the aluminum spiral on and then hook them into different holes to adjust the spirals quickly and easily.

Week 3 Narrative
This week we decided as a group to fix our shrouds to only be changing one variable. So we used our cone shrouds which were all the same angle and size and changed the inside. I took the cones home and started by ripping the straws out of the cone with the straight straws. Then from there I took new straws and made spirals that were a little bit less spiral than the our first spiral cone shroud. Halfway through making the shroud it was becoming lopsided. In order to fix that I restarted. I ripped the straws out and decided to pre cut the straws so they are all the same length. this kept the spirals from becoming lopsided, and now its nice and even.

After i completed that one i made one more with a lot more of spirals. I started with one straws and connected more straws to it so it would be one continuos straw to create the spiral around. Now we have three shrouds all the same size, however, with different spiral size. Now when we test we will be able to tell exactly how the spirals can affect the turbine.

Along with creating the shrouds we got the opportunity to present our project to a group of other engineering students. We were able to show our progress. When you work on it week after week, you do not notice the changes that you have made completely. When you reflect back on it I was able to realize how far we have come.

(Sorry I am unable to get the pictures right now)

Week 4 Narrative
During this week I encountered a minor setback. Due to Negligence I had accidentally crushed and ruined one of the cone shrouds. Although it was an easy fix It set us back.

What I did to fix the shroud was first create the right shape of it again, since it was a little deformed. What I did was grab an another cone and set the crushed cone around it. I than left it there overnight. From there i took it off and the shape was fine. Then I redid the whole inside. I started by scraping out the glue on the inside. Then precut the straws to all the same length, Then glued Them down with the spiral pattern. Then I took the tip of the hot glue gun and wiped away the excess glue to clean it up a bit.

After that we tested our 3-D shroud.

We took all of our test data and took the averages of all the watts produced from respective shrouds. After that I found the percent increase from the base test no shroud. The percent increase is as followed: No Shroud: .08352 Paper Mache: 1.75% increase Metal: 1.93% increase Flat walls: 1.52% increase Straight line Shroud: 0.15% increase Spiral Shroud: 1.39% increase 3D Shroud: 1.98% increase

From the data above the 3-D shroud is the best. Which makes the most sense. We put a lot of work and measurements into that one. Then from that data you can so the metal shroud was the second best, however it was not. This is due to the fact the up close it was the best but the further you got stepped back the less effective the shroud became. Therefore the second best, in my opinion, was the flat wall shroud, then in order from there.