Wind Turbine Design

Here at Kidwind we have seen some really wacky wind turbine designs over the years. Although most utility-scale wind turbines all look pretty much the same, you should not feel limited to that design. Sure, engineers have found that a 3-bladed, horizontal axis wind turbine is the best design for industrial-scale needs, but this design might not be the best for you!

 

Wind turbines come in all different shapes and sizes. There are geared and direct drive wind turbines. There are horizontal axis and vertical axis wind turbines.  There are upwind and downwind turbines. There are big and small ones. Some have 1 or 2 blades, and some have 12 or more blades! Some even have more than one rotor! Some new experimental wind turbines are designed to float in the air like kites! There are even wind turbines that do not rotate at all!

 

Try to build a few different types and see how they do at producing power in the same types of environments. While these types of experiments can be more complicated, they are much more rewarding because you have lots of cool wind catchers when you are done, and you will know which design proved the best.

 

There are a lot of different variables listed above. Remember to start simple when you are working on a science project. Isolate one or two variables that you want to experiment with so you don't get overwhelmed.

 

The pictures below might give you some fun ideas to play around with:

 

(Photos above link to source)

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