User:Medelen8/ENES100/Wind Turbine Implement B

Goals for implementation performance, cost and quality
Our major goals for the project was to design various wind shrouds in order to learn about wind turbine technology. We needed to create a shroud design that would maximize the wind turbine's output. We planned to use the 3-D printer to create at least one shroud.We would then use other materials to create shrouds that we could use to test their effect on the turbine's output. After the shrouds were constructed, we then needed to perform testing. We planned to use the leaf blower and keep constant wind speed, but change the distance at which we test from. This allowed us to test and find out which shroud design works the best. In order to keep the overall cost of the project low, we planned on using household materials and supplies already available at the college to create our various shroud designs. In order to ensure the quality of our results we determined that having a large volume of shrouds featuring different designs and materials would allow us to see the variances in shroud design versus output.

1.) Design multiple shroud designs - Using CAD software

2.) Print a design using the 3-D printer - Create many shrouds using various materials.

3.) Come up with ways to test the wind turbine - Use the leaf blower and test at different distance increments

4.) Decide which shroud is the most efficient - Interpret our data

5.) Determine means for data output and viewing. - Use the computer screen.If time permits fix the LCD display

Implementation Plan (task allocation and work flow)
Week 1
 * This week was our first week to test the turbine. We decided to get a baseline test of the turbine with no shroud on it. We also wanted to fix the design to our 3-D shroud and try to make the most effective shroud design possible. It was required that one person of the group got certification to use the 3-D printer in order to print the shroud design.
 * Gulraize was to get the baseline test data of the turbine with no shroud on it. From there Anthony was to interpret the data and create the necessary graph. Joe was to fix the design of our 3-D shroud on CAD, along with get certified to print. Zach was to create diagrams of the shroud and attempt to print the original design.

Week 2
 * This week we focused on testing. We were unable to test the week before due to faulty wiring with the circuit of the wind turbine. This week we wanted to get the baseline test results and get our 3-D model printed.
 * Gulraize's task was to finalize the wiring on the turbine in order to test. Zach was to create a video of the testing being conducted as well as to come up with a process to test the turbine. Anthony was to interpret the data again, and create graphs of the results. Joe needed to get certified for the maker bot, and print our finalized design of the 3-D shroud.

Week 3
 * During week three, we retested all of our shrouds at 16 inch increments while the prior week only had 3 measurements the new testing would have 14. We also realized that when at high speeds, the fan spins off axis and contacts the frame.
 * We decided that Zach would make a non-3D printed shroud and conduct testing as well as the turbine frame, where when the fan blade spins so it doesn't contact the frame. Gulraize Was to test that shroud and the 3-D shroud if it is created. Anthony had to interpret the data and organize it so it was neat and legible. Joe had to modify the shroud deisng because it was too big to be printed on the 3-D printer.

Week 4
 * This week we focused on creating shrouds out of various materials. We wanted to test the differences between materials such as plastic and metal
 * In order to complete our tasks we assigned Zach to try to fix the fan blade spinning off axis and wobbling, and if possible to create a new shroud. Gulriaze was to make a shroud to test. Anthony was to fix the support beam that broke off and to create a couple shrouds that can be tested. Joe was to print the 3-D shroud. Our main focus as a group, however; was to create and test all the shrouds.

Week 5
 * This week we finished making our shrouds finsihed testing them.
 * In order to complete our goals we assigned Joe to print the other half of the 3-D printed shroud. Anthony was to create shrouds that were identical but only changed one feature, the measurement of the internal spirals. Zach was to create inserts for the metal shroud to change wind flow. Zach was also began working on getting the LCD display to work, while Gulraize sketched a design for a new wind turbine.

Week 6
 * Our main focus was to finish the testing and advance our project along. What I mean is to get the LCD screen to display the data output from the turbine. This would allow us to test more easily and make the turbine more aesthetically pleasing.
 * For this to happened, Joe finished the 3-D shroud and glued them together, and him and Anthony tested all of the shrouds from last week and this week that were created. While they were doing that Zach was tasked to work on the LCD screen to test and see if the screen we had worked or not. While he was working on the actual screen, Gulraize was tasked to work on the code for the shroud.

Week 7
 * For week 7, our goal was to limit our testing to only changing one variable, testing, and getting the LCD screen to work.
 * In order to complete the one variable testing. Anthony worked on a design of the three cone shrouds and changed the inside of them. We decided to test out our "Gun Barrel" theory to see if the size of the spirals change the watts produced.
 * Zach soldered on pins to the new display screen in order to plug it into the breadboard. Gulraize then took the new display screen and wired it to the Arduino.

Week 8
 * This week we focused on finalizing our project. We needed to finish the LCD screen to get it working, and finish testing.
 * Anthony was assigned to interpret the data from the final testing. Joe was to take the data and apply it to the real world and how it affects real wind turbines. Gulraize's main focus was to get the screen working. Meanwhile Zach was tasked to help test, and help Gulraize wire the new screen.

Considerations for human user/operators
Considerations in regards to the safety of both those working on the project as well as those who would possibly be using the wind turbine are important.

For those who were working on the project, it was important for us to follow safety precautions while working within the workshop environment. With the use of hand tools(screwdrivers, wrenchs, ratchets, measuring utencils, etc.), power tools (drills, saws, sanders, etc.), as well as specialty tools such as a soldering iron, it was important that all members of the group knew how to safely operate and use the tools in order to minimize the chance of injury.

For those who would be using the finished product of the wind turbine, it would be important that they are made aware of danger points of the assembly such as the moving turbine blade. Considerations such as education of the proper operation also need to be taken into consideration. A way to educate the users of the important information of the wind turbine would be to have directions as well as safety precautions labeled clearly on the turbine assembly.

The manufacturing and/or purchasing of parts
There were many different techniques that we used to create the multiple shrouds that would fit onto our wind turbine. The easiest of shrouds that we use were made orange sport cones. We just trimmed excess material in order for it to fit onto the wind lens. Then we used duck tape to attach the shroud onto the base of the wind fan. Another shroud was created by using paper mache. We also created a shroud from sheet metal. We used common hand tools to bend the metal and shape it in the form of a shroud. The final shroud we created was the most difficult. It had the most dimensions in it because we wanted it to be the most successful. We created a shroud on CAD Autodesk Inventor and then used a MakerBot 3D printer to print out the shroud. We realized that the shroud was too big to fit in the MakerBot so we had to redesign the shroud and cut it in half to fit on the platform. For this project it was not needed that we had to purchase any parts. For the construction of the shrouds, we mostly used materials that were lying around and did not require a purchase.

For the LCD display, we used materials such as a soldering iron, with needed supplies, the screen itself as well as headers to that the display could be wired onto a breadboard. All of the materials needed for the LCD were available for our use and we did not have to purchase any parts to make the screen work.

Here are the designs to the 3D shroud.

The assembly of parts into larger constructs
The construction of the orange cone shrouds were the easiest. We ended up using straws to create different interior designs. One of the shrouds was untouched so it didn't have any designs on it. Another shroud we used the straws to create a spiral down the inside that would direct wind flow. The final cone design we used multiple straws that went strait down to the base. Theoretically, these two design should improve the wattage output.

Tolerances, variability, key characteristics
There were many different things that we had to take into account wen creating each of the shrouds. One of the major problems that we had with the 3D shroud was finding a way to attach it onto the wind lens. We made a decision matrix that shows that magnetic tape would be the most successful using the variables that we plugged in. This is so important because if the shroud isn't firmly attached to the base then some of the air flow can escape damaging the wattage output.

We also didn't want to spent too much money on materials. We didn't have the proper tools available to us to create a shroud out of wood and we didn't want to spend the money on the tools. Also, some of the materials wouldn't prove to be that beneficial to our project. Plastic wouldn't shape the way we want it and sheet metal can't do the same thing even though we tried. The most important piece of information that we had to keep in mind is the angle of the cone. Our research from previous weeks shows that 25 degrees is the most successful degree to use for the angle of the shroud and not many materials would allow use to use them to our advantage that way. However, all in all we did the best we could and we used each of our resources successfully.

The break down of high level components into module designs (including algorithms and data structures)
This is the design of the breadboard for the wind turbine, the DC motor is the input from the wind turbine and the black is positive and red is negative.

This picture is only helpful if it explained correctly. So what the circuit design is saying is that the Aurdino reads the output from the wind turbine at A0. Then, Aurdino powers up the LCD screen using 5 Volts and grounding the screen at specific pins shown in the diagram above. Then, the Aurdino sends outputs to the LCD screen to display the words "Watts=" using digital output 2,4,7, and 8 then uses digital output 11 and 12 to display the data read by A0 into the number of Watts collected. The output of all of this is what is read on the LCD screen.

The formula, Current = Volts / Resistance, is somethign we learned in the beginning of the semester in ENES 100 and is also commonly used throughout all of electronics. Fluid Dynamics helped our group understand how the wind blade moves and how it generates power, which made it a lot easier for my group to find ways to increase the amount of power we could get out of the turbine. These are all the formulas used in this project: :$$I = \frac{V}{R} \quad \text{or}\quad V = IR \quad \text{or} \quad R = \frac{V}{I}. P = \frac{V^2}{R} $$ The next formula for how the Wind Turbine generates energy is P=½ρAV³. P stands for Power, Watts. ρ stands for the air density. A stands for the Area of the of the wind turbine blades. V is the Wind speed.

Reference: http://www.windgenkits.com/faq.htm

Algorithms (data structures, control flow, data flow)
The way this design works is fairly simple. The wind turbine's blades move when wind or another force is acted upon it causing it to spin. So, when it spins it transforms potential energy into kinetic wind energy, and can be found by using the formula referenced above, into electrical energy. Once the energy is transformed into electrical energy it is able to be used and read by the computer. So a wire connects the wind turbine to the Arduino, once the energy is in the Arduino it uses the formulas to see how many Amps, Volts, and Watts the wind turbine sent it. Then, it transfers the data to the computer and the code translate the data into readable values such as Watts = .10. That is a basic synapse of how the wind turbine generates energy and how we display the energy we receive from it.

The programming language
The device we used was Arduino and used the code used in their application. The coding language is basically the same language as Java and C++, with slightly different changes here and there. We used the tutorials and other examples to fully understand how the language works.

The low-level design (coding)
The code for the serial monitor is displayed below The code for the working LCD screen is shown below:

The integration of software in electronic hardware (size of processor, communications, etc)
The brains of the wind turbine which allow the wind turbine to operate is the Arduino UNO board. Within the Arduino board, code was written to interpret the data transmitted to it from the turbine blade to then convert that data into a unit of measurement. Which in this case the unit happens to be Watts. From the data that is received and converted by the Arduino UNO, it is then sent to the serial monitor that is open and viewing the data to a nearby computer through a wired USB connection. The picture below shows the circuit and operational circuit of the turbine system. The circuit is wired onto a breadboard with the use of 7.5k and a 5k resistor. The red/black wires are connected to a snap connector which leads to the turbine blade. These wires receive the input from the spinning turbine blade. The black cable runs to the nearby computer where the data compiled within the Arduino is made visible with the use of the serial monitor.

Video of working LCD Display Screen

The integration of software with sensor, actuators and mechanical hardware
The wind turbine blade acts as a sensor which transmits the data to the Arduino board where it is then converted into a viewable piece of data on the serial monitor. The turbine blade is the only sensor that is used within this system. The only moving part apart of our wind turbine system is the turbine blade itself. All other parts of the system are stationary. The stationary parts are either supporting the turbine assembly (frame parts, plexiglass, supports,etc.) or are electrical pieces( Arduino, wires, resistors, display screen etc.}. With the LCD display circuit assembled and complete, it can then be placed into the black plastic housing on the wind turbine's base to be contained and protected. The wires and components for the LCD display circuit must be securely attached so that when the circuit is being moved and contained within the plastic housing it does not get damaged or disconnected causing a malfunction.

Test and analysis procedures
For our testing we had 6 different shrouds, so we conducted 6 different tests using one with no shrouds. The testing was done every 16 inches and went all the way to 224 inches and a total of 14 intervals. We used a leaf blower and the highest setting for each interval and the testing would display on a computer screen's serial monitor. A picture of how our testing is set up is below

We decided to focus on the power we are receiving and that is measured in Watts and below is the data we got from testing.



The bar graph above takes the average output in Watts and organizes it in a way that allows it to easily interpreted. By taking the average of the measurements, it helps us to determine which shroud has the most effect on the output readings at both close and far distances of the wind source (leaf blower).

From the bar graph, the shroud which had the highest average output reading was the 3D printed shroud. At the closer measurements below 128 inches, the 3D printed shroud performed better then any of the other shrouds at close distances. However after 128 inches, the shroud did not perform as well as the paper mache shroud at farther distances. The average of the readings does not completely convey the output readings of each output measurement at each distance so the line graph can aid in understanding the effectiveness of the shrouds at distances that are near and far from the wind turbine.

We then calculated the increase percentages that each shroud has in comparison to the wind turbine without a shroud. We did this by taking the average amount of wattage that each shroud produced and divided it by the average of the turbine without a shroud. Here is a list of our results.

We have three different videos for our testing:
 * 1) Beginning Test
 * 2) Paper Mache and no shroud testing
 * 3) Final testing of last four shrouds

The verification of performance to system requirements
The original requirements from the very first group are
 * 1) Quantify power generation
 * 2) Measure power generation
 * 3) Demonstrate the benefit of recent technological advances
 * 4) Show how shrouded wind turbines work better than traditional wind turbines

We achieved every single one of these goals. The first part of quantifying the power generation is done using the formulas shown in section 3.1. The turbine does measure the power generated and displays it on the computer screen. It shows how recent technological advances have benefited the turbine by having a stable and sturdy design that works smoothly. The last part is shown with the testing we did and the shrouds did end up working a lot better than the wind turbine with no shrouds.

The validation of performance to customer needs
The customer would get a fully operational wind turbine if they were to purchase this. The only problem they could potentially find is if they have the wind turbine facing the wrong way the fan could start to wobble. But, besides that the wind turbine will generate small amounts of energy if put outside on a windy day. The wind turbine is relatively cheap and will cost less than twenty dollars. This wind turbine can also be used as a perfect small model for companies trying to learn about how wind turbines work. Overall the wind turbine would require very little maintenance and would have a very short and small learning curve for the user. One possible point where maintenance would be required would be the power source such as the battery (In future finalized designs) replacement.

Interpreting The Data
The use of the shrouds were something we originally found during our research of Wind Turbines. We knew that many wind turbines around the world use shrouds, so we decided that we should make different shrouds to see if shrouds truly help the amount of Watts that come from a Wind Turbine. Through our testing we found that each of our shrouds do increase the amount of Watts collected.

After all of our testing was complete we needed to pick which shroud worked the best and through testing and comparison we found that on average the best working shroud was the 3D shroud. This agrees with the research we found because it said that the optimal angle for wind shrouds were 25 degrees. The data proved that the most important variable of the wind turbine was the angle of which the shroud is open.

All of this data is great to have, but the main point of this project was not to get data and testing, but to gain knowledge of wind turbine technology. We learned a lot of different things about turbine technology. The first thing we learned that you need to put in time and research into the topic because it can be fairly difficult to understand. The next main point we learned was that shrouds do in fact help increase the amount of wind collected. Using wind turbines for powering the world may be possible, but you need to have a turbine with big blades, to increase to amount of Watts collected. Also, a huge factor of how much Watts you can generate is depending on the speed of the blades spinning, so the fast the wind is blowing then the more power the turbine collects.

Sourcing, partnering, and supply chains
In order to lower costs of the entire wind turbine system, sourcing parts such as the turbine blade assembly as well as the Arduino boards could possibly help to minimize the cost of creating the systems. Perhaps a partner with Arduino could lead to a business venture where both the creators of the wind turbine system as well as the creators of the Arduino boards could benefit. A part that would be rather costly would be the LCD display itself. Each LCD display costs between $15-$25 is we would like to use a screen like the one we used for the project. In order to minimize the costs of the screens a bulk purchase of a large sum of units or using a different manufacturer of screens would be necessary.

Possible implementation process improvements
Improvements within the implementation process can lead to a smooth transition that is complete and error free to the operation phase. Possible improvements that can made to the implementation process are listed below:
 * Make the wind turbine compact and aesthetically pleasing(No loose wires, paint on the frame, electronics contained,etc.)
 * [UPDATED]Install a working LCD screen onto the system to allow clear visible readings without the use of a computer. An image of the LCD screen to be used is below. The circuit for the LCD screen has been created and tested and is in working order. The LCD display will need minor tweaking and debugging before it can be successfully used with the wind turbine to receive accurate and proper readings. As of the third project cycle finishing for the spring semester 2014 the LCD display is still being powered off of a laptop computer. The screen needs to be hooked and and wired to be ran independently off of a battery

Next Steps
There are a few things that need to be changed with the wind turbine to send it into the operational stage. The main problem that it has is the wobble of the fan. The fact that the fan wobbles and sways on its axis point after it reaches a certain speed will mean that the turbine will not be as successful as it can. Trying to fix that would mean either purchasing a new fan all together or rebuilding it. A new fan would send us right back into the design phase since it might not be the same kind of fan. Another sleight problem that we had was the design of the front board. When we put the leaf blower about 10 inches or closer to the turbine it would blow backwards because of the design of the wind turbine. This would also need a new design for the turbine. Maybe a rounded pole instead of a board so that wind can flow around it instead of meeting it head on. These are a few things that need to be changed. A redesign in the wind turbine will send it into production. The actual wind shroud will also need to be printed on a 3D printer successfully every time for the operational stage to commence. The next steps required could also include different angles that the shroud can be printed at. If 25 degrees is in fact the best angle to use then redesigning the interior of the shroud would be next. Since we tested different interior designs, applying one of those designs to improve the shroud would give us the best results. This would allow each shroud to be unique in its own way depending on what operation the customer will want it to preform.