Weekly Progress
Week 1:
During week one, the group brainstormed different ideas for a biologically inspired engineering device. Our initial was to create a watch that could detect a person's internal regulative conditions like blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but we realized that this did not fit the criteria of bio-"inspired" design. Then, we had ideas of creating prosthetic arms with sensory receptors and self-healing concrete that used bacteria to repair any cracks, but we realized that those ideas were extremely difficult to produce in tangible form. Finally, we arrived at the idea of whale-fin inspired wind turbines. By applying the whale fins' hydrodynamic efficiency in the ocean to wind turbines, The turbines would similarly minimize aerodynamic drag while also maximizing the speed at which it can be propelled.
Week 2:
During week two, the group finalized the design for the turbines. We decided to build two turbines to compare them and analyze the efficiency of the whale-fin inspired propeller compared to the unmodified propeller. We decided on the final model and parts involved; the base will be constructed out of PVC pipe pieces to provide a broad stand, while the PVC pipe extends to form a tower with a piece jutting out at the end to fit the motor. The motor will be fitted at the end and connected to the propeller blades and the spinner. The wiring of the motor will be threaded through the PVC pipes and connected to a battery to power it. We decided that there will be an output source to connect the turbine to, so that we can have a standard to measure the modified propeller's efficiency. The output source is currently determined to be a light bulb that changes in intensity as the power passing through it increases.
Week 3:
During week three, the group discussed the dimensions of the modified wind turbine. We referred to a research paper on the aerodynamic advantages of wind turbine blades with a sinusoidal leading edge (Zhang), and discussed the measurements of the sinusoidal curves, including its ratio to the volume of the entire propeller blade. In terms of the physical aspects of the turbine, we obtained PVC piping and created the tower, assessed the base and design of the entire turbine. We sketched out the design for the piping and how it extends out to support the wiring, motor, and propeller.
Figure 1. Modified Wind Turbine (from Zhang, 2012)
In week four, we started working on the 3D Model of the turbine propeller blade on Fusion 360. We updated the group notebook, and obtained a motor for the turbine. We also updated the rough sketch of the design, and are planning to enhance this design by finding more materials next week.
Week 5:
Week 5 was a productive one for the group. We collected parts for the turbine including the pvc piping tower, wires, multimeter, and motor. While two members trimmed the piping and cut it to accommodate the wiring, keeping in mind the dimensions for the motor and subsequent parts, the other two worked on Fusion 360 to build and construct the model for the propeller. We consulted each other on the measurements and finalized the design. For the propeller, we evaluated and considered the risks involved in the 3D printing process of the propeller blades.
Week 6:
Week 6 was the second week in which the team continued to work on the design of the prototype. We worked on the design for a single propeller blade on Fusion 360. We ran into few problems, such as the measurements for the depth and wavelength of the sine curve that creates the ridges on the blade, and this delayed our initial plans by a fraction. We aim to get the blade 3D printed by next week, and have our prototype ready to be tested. We were able to get our electric generator functioning by rotating the motor to actually produce an electric output as seen through the voltmeter. We remade our main structure for the turbine, using a new PVC pipe with two additional holes for the generator and for the wires leading to the voltmeter. The group, finally, planned out the activities for the remaining weeks, estimating the time to evaluate and fix the problems we run into during testing.
Week 7:
During Week 7, we analyzed the first 3D Printed propeller blade prototype. We concluded that the dimensions needed to be enlarged to completely account for the results we are looking for. Our first prototype had almost negligible indentations for the whale-fin design, which would not make a difference compared to an unmodified propeller blade. So, we worked on changing the dimensions on Fusion 360. Although we ran into a few difficulties with the software, we modified it in time. The other half of the group worked on fixing the base of the turbine further by accounting for the dimensions of the turbine head. We tested the multi-meter manually to see the voltages it could record, and created a sample circuit connection with our available materials.
We made much progress on the construction of the prototype this week. We printed out the updated version of the turbine blade; we noticed however that it still required a few modifications. We realized the end of the blade that attached to the central hub was too short to attach to a hub securely. It was also much heavier than expected. To resolve these issues in our next round of printing, we elongated that end of the blade and we used the lightest possible infill for the blade. We also decided to print the three modified blades simultaneously rather than individually to save time. The result is shown below:
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