For a long time, humanity has been using the power of the wind for its own purposes. Windmills, sailing ships are familiar to many; they are written about in books and historical films are made. Nowadays, the wind power generator has not lost its relevance, because with its help you can get free electricity at the dacha, which can come in handy if the power goes out. Let's talk about homemade windmills, which can be assembled from scrap materials and available parts at a minimum cost. For you, we have provided one detailed instruction with pictures, as well as video ideas for several more assembly options. So, let's look at how to make a wind generator with your own hands at home.
Assembly instructions
There are several types of wind turbines, namely horizontal, vertical and turbine. They have fundamental differences, their pros and cons. However, the operating principle of all wind generators is the same - wind energy is converted into electrical energy and accumulated in batteries, and from them is used for human needs. The most common type is horizontal.
He is familiar and recognizable. The advantage of a horizontal wind generator is its higher efficiency compared to others, since the windmill blades are always exposed to air flow. The disadvantages include the high wind requirement - it must be stronger than 5 meters per second. This type of windmill is the easiest to make, which is why home craftsmen often take it as a basis.
If you decide to try your hand at assembling a wind generator yourself, here are some recommendations.
You need to start with the generator - this is the heart of the system; the design of the screw assembly will depend on its parameters. Domestic and imported automobile generators are suitable for this; there is information about the use of stepper motors from printers or other office equipment. You can also use a bicycle wheel motor to make your own windmill to generate electricity. In general, almost any motor or generator can be used, but it must be tested for efficiency.
Having decided on the energy converter, you need to assemble a gear unit to increase the speed on the generator shaft. One revolution of the propeller should be equal to 4-5 revolutions on the shaft of the generator unit. However, these parameters are selected individually, based on the power and characteristics of your generator and blade assembly. The gearbox can be a part from an angle grinder or a system of belts and rollers.
When the gearbox-generator assembly is assembled, we begin to determine its torque resistance (grams per millimeter). To do this, you need to make an arm with a counterweight on the shaft of the future installation, and using a weight, find out at what weight the arm will go down. An acceptable result is less than 200 grams per meter. The size of the shoulder in this case is taken as the length of the blade.
Many people think that the more blades, the better. This is not entirely true. We need high speeds, and many propellers create greater wind resistance, since we make them at home, as a result of which at some point the oncoming flow slows down the propeller and the efficiency of the installation drops. You can use a two-blade propeller. Such a propeller can spin more than 1000 rpm in normal winds. You can make the blades of a homemade wind generator from improvised materials - from plywood and galvanization, to plastic from water pipes(as in the photo below). The main condition is that the material must be light and durable.
A lightweight propeller will increase the efficiency of the windmill and sensitivity to air flow. Do not forget to balance the air wheel and remove irregularities, otherwise you will hear howling and howling while the generator is operating, and vibrations will lead to rapid wear of parts.
Next important element, this is the tail. It will keep the wheel in the wind flow, and rotate the structure if its direction changes.
It's up to you to decide whether to make a current collector or not. This will complicate the design, but will eliminate frequent twisting of the wire, which can lead to cable breaks. Of course, in its absence, you will sometimes have to unwind the wire yourself. During the test run of the wind generator, do not forget about safety precautions; spinning blades pose a great danger.
A tuned and balanced wind turbine is installed on a mast at least 7 meters high from the ground, secured with spacer cables. Further no less important node- storage battery. The most commonly used car battery is acid-acid battery. You cannot connect the output of a homemade wind generator directly to the battery; this must be done through a charging relay or controller, which you can assemble yourself or purchase ready-made.
The principle of operation of the relay comes down to monitoring the charge and load. If the battery is fully charged, it switches the generator and battery to load ballast, the system strives to always be charged, preventing overcharging, and does not leave the generator without load. A windmill without load can spin up quite strongly and damage the insulation in the windings with the generated potential. In addition, high speeds can cause mechanical destruction of elements wind generator. Next is a voltage converter from 12 to 220 volts 50 Hz for connecting household appliances.
Now the Internet is full of diagrams and drawings, where craftsmen show how to make a wind generator on powerful magnets on one's own. Whether they are as effective as they promise is a moot point. But it’s worth trying to assemble a wind power generating installation for your home, and then decide how to improve it. It is important to gain experience and then you can take a swing at a more serious device. The freedom and variety of homemade windmills is so vast, and the element base is diverse, that there is no point in describing them all, the basic meaning remains the same - the wind flow spins the propeller, the gearbox increases the shaft speed, the generator produces voltage, then the controller maintains the charge level on the battery, and with energy is already being selected for various needs. Using this principle, you can make a wind generator with your own hands at home. We hope ours detailed instructions with photo examples explained to you how to make suitable model windmill for home or cottage. We also recommend that you watch master classes on assembling a homemade device in video format.
Visual video lessons
To easily make a wind generator to generate electricity at home, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with ready-made ideas on video examples:
So we have provided all the simplest and most affordable assembly ideas homemade windmill. As you can see, even a child can easily make some models of devices. There are many other homemade options: with powerful magnets, with complex blades, etc. These designs should be repeated only if you have some experience in this matter; you should start with simple schemes. If you want to make a wind generator so that it works and is used for its intended purpose, proceed according to the instructions we provide. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments.
With rising prices for electricity, there is a search and development of it everywhere. alternative sources. In most regions of the country, it is advisable to use wind generators. To fully provide electricity a private house, a fairly powerful and expensive installation is required.
Wind generator for home
If you make a small wind generator, you can use electric current to heat water or use it for part of the lighting, for example, outbuildings, garden paths and porch. Heating water for domestic needs or heating is simplest option use of wind energy without its accumulation and conversion. Here the question is more about whether there will be enough power for heating.
Before making a generator, you should first find out the wind patterns in the region.
A large wind generator is not suitable for many places in the Russian climate due to frequent changes in the intensity and direction of air flows. With a power above 1 kW, it will be inertial and will not be able to fully spin up when the wind changes. Inertia in the plane of rotation leads to overloads from cross winds, leading to its failure.
With the advent of low-power energy consumers, it makes sense to use small homemade wind generators of no more than 12 volts to illuminate the dacha LED lamps or charge telephone batteries when there is no electricity in the house. When this is not necessary, an electric generator can be used to heat water.
Wind generator type
For windless areas, only a sail wind generator is suitable. In order for the power supply to be constant, you will need accumulator battery at least 12V, charger, inverter, stabilizer and rectifier.
For low wind areas you can make your own vertical wind generator, with a power of no more than 2-3 kW. There are many options and they are almost as good as industrial designs. It is advisable to buy wind turbines with a sail rotor. Reliable models with power from 1 to 100 kilowatts are produced in Taganrog.
In windy regions, you can make a vertical generator for your home with your own hands if the required power is 0.5-1.5 kilowatts. Blades can be made from available materials, for example, from a barrel. It is advisable to buy more productive devices. The cheapest are “sailboats”. A vertical windmill is more expensive, but it works more reliably in strong winds.
Do-it-yourself low-power windmill
It is not difficult to make a small homemade wind generator at home. To start working in the field of creating alternative energy sources and gaining valuable experience in this, how to assemble a generator, you can make a simple device yourself by adapting a motor from a computer or printer.
12V Wind Generator with Horizontal Axis
To make a low-power windmill with your own hands, you must first prepare drawings or sketches.
At a rotation speed of 200-300 rpm. the voltage can be raised to 12 volts, and the generated power will be about 3 watts. It can be used to charge a small battery. For other generators, the power must be increased to 1000 rpm. Only in this case will they be effective. But here you will need a gearbox, which creates significant resistance and also has a high cost.
Electrical part
To assemble an electric generator, you need the following components:
- a small motor from an old printer, disk drive or scanner;
- 8 diodes type 1N4007 for two rectifier bridges;
- capacitor with a capacity of 1000 microfarads;
- PVC pipe and plastic parts;
- aluminum plates.
The figure below shows the generator circuit.
Stepper motor: connection diagram to the rectifier and stabilizer
Diode bridges are connected to each motor winding, of which there are two. After the bridges, the LM7805 stabilizer is connected. The resulting output is a voltage that is typically applied to a 12-volt battery.
Electric generators based on neodymium magnets with extremely high strength clutch. They should be used carefully. With a strong impact or heating to a temperature of 80-250 0 C (depending on the type), neodymium magnets demagnetize.
You can take a car hub as the basis for a self-made generator.
Rotor with neodymium magnets
Approximately 20 pieces of neodymium magnets with a diameter of about 25 mm are glued onto the hub with superglue. Single-phase electric generators are made with an equal number of poles and magnets.
Magnets located opposite each other must attract, that is, they are turned with opposite poles. After gluing the neodymium magnets, they are filled with epoxy resin.
The coils are wound round, and the total number of turns is 1000-1200. The power of the neodymium magnet generator is selected so that it can be used as a source direct current, about 6A for charging a 12 V battery.
Mechanical part
The blades are made from plastic pipe. Blanks 10 cm wide and 50 cm long are drawn on it and then cut out. A bushing is made for the engine shaft with a flange to which the blades are attached with screws. Their number can be from two to four. Plastic will not last long, but it will be enough for the first time. Nowadays, quite wear-resistant materials have appeared, for example, carbon and polypropylene. Stronger blades can then be made from aluminum alloy.
The blades are balanced by cutting off excess parts at the ends, and the angle of inclination is created by heating them and bending them.
The generator is bolted to a piece of plastic pipe with a vertical axis welded to it. An aluminum alloy weather vane is also installed coaxially on the pipe. The axis is inserted into vertical pipe masts. A thrust bearing is installed between them. The entire structure can rotate freely in a horizontal plane.
The electrical board can be placed on the rotating part, and the voltage can be transmitted to the consumer through two slip rings with brushes. If the board with the rectifier is installed separately, then the number of rings will be equal to six, the same number of pins as the stepper motor has.
The windmill is mounted at a height of 5-8 m.
If the device generates energy efficiently, it can be improved by making it vertical-axial, for example, from a barrel. The structure is less susceptible to lateral overloads than horizontal ones. The figure below shows a rotor with blades made from fragments of a barrel, mounted on an axis inside the frame and not subject to overturning force.
Windmill with a vertical axis and a barrel rotor
The profiled surface of the barrel creates additional rigidity, due to which thinner sheet metal can be used.
Wind generator with a capacity of more than 1 kilowatt
The device must provide tangible benefits and provide a voltage of 220 V so that some electrical appliances can be turned on. To do this, it must start independently and generate electricity over a wide range.
To make a wind generator with your own hands, you must first determine the design. It depends on how strong the wind is. If it is weak, then the only option may be a sailing version of the rotor. You cannot get more than 2-3 kilowatts of energy here. In addition, it will require a gearbox and a powerful battery with a charger.
The price of all equipment is high, so you should find out whether it will be beneficial for your home.
In areas with strong winds, a homemade wind generator can produce 1.5-5 kilowatts of power. Then it can be connected to home network at 220V. It is difficult to make a device with greater power yourself.
Electric generator from a DC motor
A low-speed motor can be used as a generator, generating electricity at 400-500 rpm: PIK8-6/2.5 36V 0.3Nm 1600min-1. Case length 143 mm, diameter – 80 mm, shaft diameter – 12 mm.
What does a DC motor look like?
It requires a multiplier with a gear ratio of 1:12. With one revolution of the windmill blades, the electric generator will make 12 revolutions. The figure below shows a diagram of the device.
Wind turbine design diagram
The gearbox creates an additional load, but it is still less than for a car generator or starter, where a gear ratio of at least 1:25 is required.
It is advisable to make blades from aluminum sheet size 60x12x2. If you install 6 of them on the motor, the device will not be so fast and will not spin during large gusts of wind. The possibility of balancing should be provided. To do this, the blades are soldered to bushings with the ability to screw onto the rotor so that they can be moved further or closer from its center.
The power of a generator using permanent magnets made of ferrite or steel does not exceed 0.5-0.7 kilowatts. It can be increased only with special neodymium magnets.
A generator with a non-magnetized stator is not suitable for operation. When there is a slight wind, it stops, and after that it will not be able to start on its own.
Constant heating in the cold season requires a lot of energy, and heating big house- This is problem. In this regard, it can be useful for a dacha when you have to go there no more than once a week. If you weigh everything correctly, the heating system in the country only works for a few hours. The rest of the time the owners are in nature. Using a windmill as a source of direct current to charge the battery, in 1-2 weeks you can accumulate electricity to heat the premises for such a period of time, and thus create sufficient comfort for yourself.
To make a generator from an alternating current motor or a car starter, they need to be modified. The motor can be upgraded to become a generator if the rotor is made with neodymium magnets, machined to their thickness. It is made with the same number of poles as the stator, alternating with each other. The rotor with neodymium magnets glued to its surface should not stick when rotating.
Rotor types
Rotor designs vary. Common options are shown in the figure below, which shows the values of the wind energy utilization factor (WEI).
Types and designs of wind turbine rotors
For rotation, windmills are made with a vertical or horizontal axis. Vertical option has the advantage of ease of maintenance when the main components are located below. The support bearing is self-aligning and has a long service life.
The two blades of the Savonius rotor create jerks, which is not very convenient. For this reason, it is made of two pairs of blades, spaced apart by 2 levels with one rotated relative to the other by 90 0. Barrels, buckets, and pans can be used as blanks.
The Daria rotor, the blades of which are made of elastic tape, is easy to manufacture. To facilitate promotion, their number should be odd. The movement occurs in jerks, which is why the mechanical part quickly breaks. In addition, the tape vibrates when rotating, making a roar. This design is not very suitable for permanent use, although the blades are sometimes made of sound-absorbing materials.
In an orthogonal rotor, the wings are made profiled. The optimal number of blades is three. The device is fast, but it must be untwisted when starting.
The helicoid rotor has high efficiency due to the complex curvature of the blades, which reduces losses. It is used less often than other wind turbines due to its high cost.
The horizontal blade rotor design is the most efficient. But it requires stable average winds and also requires hurricane protection. Blades can be made from propylene when their diameter is less than 1 m.
If you cut the blades from a thick-walled plastic pipe or barrel, you will not be able to achieve a power higher than 200 W. A profile in the form of a segment is not suitable for a compressible gaseous medium. This requires a complex profile.
The diameter of the rotor depends on how much power is required, as well as the number of blades. A 10 W two-blade requires a rotor with a diameter of 1.16 m, and a 100 W rotor needs 6.34 m. For a four- and six-blade, the diameter will be 4.5 m and 3.68 m, respectively.
If you place the rotor directly on the generator shaft, its bearing will not last long, since the load on all the blades is uneven. The support bearing for the windmill shaft must be self-aligning, with two or three tiers. Then the rotor shaft will not be afraid of bending and displacement during rotation.
A major role in the operation of a windmill is played by the current collector, which must be regularly maintained: lubricated, cleaned, adjusted. The possibility of its prevention should be provided, although this is difficult to do.
Safety
Windmills with power exceeding 100 W are noisy devices. An industrial wind turbine can be installed in the courtyard of a private house, if it is certified. Its height should be higher than the nearest houses. Even a low-power windmill cannot be installed on the roof. Mechanical vibrations from its operation can create resonance and lead to the destruction of the structure.
High rotation speeds of the wind generator require high quality workmanship. Otherwise, if the device is destroyed, there is a danger that its parts may fly away over long distances and cause injury to people or pets. This should be especially taken into account when making a windmill with your own hands from scrap materials.
Video. DIY wind generator.
The use of wind generators is not advisable in all regions, since it depends on climatic conditions. In addition, it makes no sense to make them yourself without some experience and knowledge. To begin with, you can start creating a simple design with a power of several watts and a voltage of up to 12 volts, with which you can charge your phone or light an energy-saving lamp. The use of neodymium magnets in the generator can significantly increase its power.
It is better to purchase powerful wind turbines that take over a significant portion of the home’s power supply, producing industrial ones that create a voltage of 220V, carefully weighing all the pros and cons. If you combine them with other types of alternative energy sources, there may be enough electricity for all household needs, including the home heating system.
Do-it-yourself vertical wind generator, drawings, photos, videos of a wind turbine with a vertical axis.
Wind generators are divided according to the type of placement of the rotating axis (rotor) into vertical and horizontal. We looked at the design of a wind generator with a horizontal rotor in the previous article, now let’s talk about a wind generator with a vertical rotor.
Scheme axial generator for a wind generator.
Making a wind wheel.
The wind wheel (turbine) of a vertical wind generator consists of two supports, upper and lower, as well as blades.
The wind wheel is made from sheets of aluminum or stainless steel; the wind wheel can also be cut from a thin-walled barrel. The height of the wind wheel must be at least 1 meter.
In this wind wheel, the bending angle of the blades sets the rotation speed of the rotor; the greater the bend, the greater the rotation speed.
The wind wheel is bolted directly to the generator pulley.
To install a vertical wind generator, you can use any mast; the manufacture of the mast is described in detail in this article.
Wiring diagram for wind generator.
The generator is connected to the controller, which in turn is connected to the battery. It is more practical to use a car battery as an energy storage device. Since household appliances run on alternating current, we will need an inverter to convert 12 V DC to 220 V AC.
For connection, a copper wire with a cross-section of up to 2.5 square is used. The connection diagram is described in detail.
Video showing a wind generator in operation.
Often, owners of private houses have an idea to implement backup power supply systems. The simplest and affordable way- this, naturally, is either a generator, but many people turn their attention to a more complex ways converting the so-called free energy (radiation, energy of flowing water or wind) into.
Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. If everything is clear with the use of water flow (mini-hydroelectric power station) - this is only available in the immediate vicinity of a fairly fast-flowing river, then sunlight or wind can be used almost anywhere. Both of these methods will also have a common disadvantage - if a water turbine can operate around the clock, then a solar battery or wind generator is only effective for a while, which makes it necessary to include batteries in the structure of the home electrical network.
Since conditions in Russia (short daylight hours most of the year, frequent precipitation) make the use solar panels ineffective for their modern values and efficiency, the most profitable is the design wind generator . Let's consider its operating principle and possible options designs.
Since none homemade device not like the other one, this one article is not step-by-step instruction , and the description basic principles wind generator design.General operating principle
The main working parts of a wind generator are the blades, which are rotated by the wind. Depending on the location of the rotation axis, wind generators are divided into horizontal and vertical:
- Horizontal wind generators most widespread. Their blades have a design similar to an airplane propeller: to a first approximation, they are plates inclined relative to the plane of rotation, which convert part of the load from wind pressure into rotation. Important feature horizontal wind generator is the need to ensure rotation of the blade assembly in accordance with the direction of the wind, since maximum efficiency is ensured when the wind direction is perpendicular to the plane of rotation.
- Blades vertical wind generator have a convex-concave shape. Since the streamlining of the convex side is greater than that of the concave side, such a wind generator always rotates in one direction, regardless of the direction of the wind, which makes it unnecessary swivel mechanism unlike horizontal wind turbines. At the same time, due to the fact that at any given time useful work performs only part of the blades, and the rest only counteract rotation, The efficiency of a vertical wind turbine is significantly lower than that of a horizontal one: if for a three-blade horizontal wind generator this figure reaches 45%, then for a vertical one it will not exceed 25%.
Since the average wind speed in Russia is low, even a large windmill will rotate quite slowly most of the time. To ensure sufficient power supply, it must be connected to the generator through a step-up gearbox, belt or gear. In a horizontal windmill, the blade-gearbox-generator assembly is mounted on a rotating head, which allows them to follow the direction of the wind. It is important to take into account that the rotating head must have a limiter that prevents it from making a full rotation, since otherwise the wiring from the generator will be broken (the option of using contact washers that allow the head to rotate freely is more complicated). To ensure rotation, the wind generator is supplemented with a working vane directed along the axis of rotation.
The most common blade material is large diameter PVC pipe cut lengthwise. They are riveted to the edges metal plates, welded to the hub of the blade assembly. Drawings of this kind of blades are most widely distributed on the Internet.
The video tells about a wind generator made by yourself
Calculation of a bladed wind generator
Since we have already found out that a horizontal wind generator is much more efficient, we will consider the calculation of its design.
Wind energy can be determined by the formula
P=0.6*S*V³, where S is the area of the circle described by the ends of the propeller blades (sweeping area), expressed in square meters, and V is the estimated wind speed in meters per second. You also need to take into account the efficiency of the windmill itself, which for a three-blade horizontal scheme will average 40%, as well as the efficiency of the generating set, which at the peak of the current-speed characteristic is 80% for a generator with excitation from permanent magnets and 60% for a generator with an excitation winding. On average, another 20% of the power will be consumed by the step-up gearbox (multiplier). Thus, the final calculation of the radius of a windmill (that is, the length of its blade) for a given power of a permanent magnet generator looks like this:
R=√(P/(0.483*V³))
Example: Let's take the required power of the wind power plant to be 500 W, and the average wind speed to be 2 m/s. Then, according to our formula, we will have to use blades at least 11 meters long. As you can see, even such a small power will require the creation of a wind generator of colossal dimensions. For structures that are more or less rational in terms of making your own, with a blade length of no more than one and a half meters, the wind generator will be able to produce only 80-90 watts of power even in strong winds.
Not enough power? In fact, everything is somewhat different, since in fact the load of the wind generator is powered by batteries, while the windmill only charges them to the best of its capabilities. Consequently, the power of a wind turbine determines the frequency with which it can supply energy.
We have developed a design for a wind generator with a vertical axis of rotation. Below, presented detailed guide on its manufacture, after reading it carefully, you can make a vertical wind generator yourself.
The wind generator turned out to be quite reliable, with low maintenance costs, inexpensive and easy to manufacture. It is not necessary to follow the list of details presented below; you can make some of your own adjustments, improve something, use something of your own, because Not everywhere you can find exactly what is on the list. We tried to use inexpensive and high-quality parts.
Materials and equipment used:
| Name | Qty | Note |
| List of parts and materials used for the rotor: | ||
| Pre-cut sheet metal | 1 | Cut from 1/4" thick steel using waterjet, laser, etc. cutting |
| Auto hub (Hub) | 1 | Should contain 4 holes, about 4 inches in diameter |
| 2" x 1" x 1/2" neodymium magnet | 26 | Very fragile, it is better to order additionally |
| 1/2"-13tpi x 3" stud | 1 | TPI - number of threads per inch |
| 1/2" nut | 16 | |
| 1/2" washer | 16 | |
| 1/2" grower | 16 | |
| 1/2".-13tpi cap nut | 16 | |
| 1" washer | 4 | In order to maintain the gap between the rotors |
| List of parts and materials used for the turbine: | ||
| 3" x 60" Galvanized Pipe | 6 | |
| ABS plastic 3/8" (1.2x1.2m) | 1 | |
| Magnets for balancing | If needed | If the blades are not balanced, then magnets are attached to balance them |
| 1/4" screw | 48 | |
| 1/4" washer | 48 | |
| 1/4" grower | 48 | |
| 1/4" nut | 48 | |
| 2" x 5/8" corners | 24 | |
| 1" corners | 12 (optional) | If the blades do not hold their shape, you can add additional. corners |
| screws, nuts, washers and groovers for 1" angle | 12 (optional) | |
| List of parts and materials used for the stator: | ||
| Epoxy with hardener | 2 l | |
| 1/4" stainless steel screw | 3 | |
| 1/4" stainless steel washer | 3 | |
| 1/4" stainless steel nut | 3 | |
| 1/4" ring tip | 3 | For email connections |
| 1/2"-13tpi x 3" stainless steel stud. | 1 | Stainless steel steel is not ferromagnetic, so it will not “slow down” the rotor |
| 1/2" nut | 6 | |
| Fiberglass | If needed | |
| 0.51mm enamel. the wire | 24AWG | |
| List of parts and materials used for installation: | ||
| 1/4" x 3/4" bolt | 6 | |
| 1-1/4" pipe flange | 1 | |
| 1-1/4" galvanized pipe L-18" | 1 | |
| Tools and Equipment: | ||
| 1/2"-13tpi x 36" stud | 2 | Used for jacking |
| 1/2" bolt | 8 | |
| Anemometer | If needed | |
| 1" aluminum sheet | 1 | For making spacers, if needed |
| Green paint | 1 | For painting plastic holders. Color is not important |
| Blue paint ball. | 1 | For painting the rotor and other parts. Color is not important |
| Multimeter | 1 | |
| Soldering iron and solder | 1 | |
| Drill | 1 | |
| Hacksaw | 1 | |
| Kern | 1 | |
| Mask | 1 | |
| Protective glasses | 1 | |
| Gloves | 1 | |
Wind generators with a vertical axis of rotation are not as efficient as their horizontal counterparts, but vertical wind generators are less demanding on their installation location.
Turbine manufacturing
1. Connecting element - designed to connect the rotor to the wind generator blades.
2. Blade arrangement - two opposing equilateral triangle. Using this drawing, it will then be easier to position the mounting angles for the blades.
If you are not sure about something, cardboard templates will help you avoid mistakes and further rework.
The sequence of actions for manufacturing a turbine:
- Manufacturing of the lower and upper supports (bases) of the blades. Mark and use a jigsaw to cut out a circle from ABS plastic. Then trace it and cut out the second support. You should end up with two absolutely identical circles.
- In the center of one support, cut a hole with a diameter of 30 cm. This will be the upper support of the blades.
- Take the hub (car hub) and mark and drill four holes on the lower support to mount the hub.
- Make a template for the location of the blades (Fig. above) and mark on the lower support the attachment points for the corners that will connect the support and the blades.
- Stack the blades, tie them tightly and cut them to the required length. In this design, the blades are 116 cm long. The longer the blades, the more wind energy they receive, but reverse side is unstable in strong winds.
- Mark the blades for attaching the corners. Punch and then drill holes in them.
- Using the blade location template shown in the picture above, attach the blades to the support using corners.
Rotor manufacturing
Sequence of actions for manufacturing a rotor:
- Lay the two rotor bases on top of each other, line up the holes and use a file or marker to make a small mark on the sides. In the future, this will help to correctly orient them relative to each other.
- Make two paper magnet placement templates and glue them to the bases.
- Mark the polarity of all magnets with a marker. As a "polarity tester" you can use a small magnet wrapped in a rag or electrical tape. By passing it over a large magnet, it will be clearly visible whether it is repelled or attracted.
- Prepare epoxy resin(adding hardener to it). And apply it evenly from the bottom of the magnet.
- Very carefully, bring the magnet to the edge of the rotor base and move it to your position. If a magnet is installed on top of the rotor, then the high power of the magnet can sharply magnetize it and it can break. And never put your fingers or other body parts between two magnets or a magnet and an iron. Neodymium magnets are very powerful!
- Continue gluing the magnets to the rotor (don't forget to lubricate them with epoxy), alternating their poles. If the magnets move under the influence of magnetic force, then use a piece of wood, placing it between them for insurance.
- Once one rotor is finished, move on to the second. Using the mark you made earlier, position the magnets exactly opposite the first rotor, but in a different polarity.
- Place the rotors away from each other (so that they do not become magnetized, otherwise you will not be able to remove them later).
Manufacturing a stator is a very labor-intensive process. You can, of course, buy a ready-made stator (try to find them here) or a generator, but it’s not a fact that they will be suitable for a specific windmill with its own individual characteristics
The wind generator stator is an electrical component consisting of 9 coils. The stator coil is shown in the photo above. The coils are divided into 3 groups, 3 coils in each group. Each coil is wound with 24AWG (0.51mm) wire and contains 320 turns. Large quantity turns, but more thin wire will give higher voltage but lower current. Therefore, the parameters of the coils can be changed, depending on what voltage you require at the output of the wind generator. The following table will help you decide:
320 turns, 0.51 mm (24AWG) = 100V @ 120 rpm.
160 turns, 0.0508 mm (16AWG) = 48V @ 140 rpm.
60 turns, 0.0571 mm (15AWG) = 24V @ 120 rpm.
Winding reels by hand is a boring and difficult task. Therefore, to facilitate the winding process, I would advise you to make a simple device - a winding machine. Moreover, its design is quite simple and can be made from scrap materials.
The turns of all coils must be wound the same way, in the same direction, and pay attention or mark where the beginning and end of the coil are. To prevent the coils from unwinding, they are wrapped with electrical tape and coated with epoxy.
The jig is made from two pieces of plywood, a bent dowel, a piece of PVC pipe and nails. Before bending the hairpin, heat it with a torch.
A small piece of pipe between the planks provides the desired thickness, and four nails provide required dimensions coils
You can come up with your own design winding machine, or maybe you already have one ready.
After all the coils are wound, they must be checked for identity to each other. This can be done using scales, and you also need to measure the resistance of the coils with a multimeter.
Do not connect household consumers directly from the wind generator! Also follow safety precautions when handling electricity!
Coil connection process:
- Sand the ends of the terminals of each coil with sandpaper.
- Connect the coils as shown in the picture above. There should be 3 groups, 3 coils in each group. With this connection diagram, you get a three-phase alternating current. Solder the ends of the coils or use clamps.
- Select one of the following configurations:
A. Configuration star". In order to obtain a large output voltage, connect terminals X,Y and Z to each other.
B. Triangle configuration. To get a large current, connect X to B, Y to C, Z to A.
C. To make it possible to change the configuration in the future, extend all six conductors and bring them out. - On large sheet On paper, draw a diagram of the location and connection of the coils. All coils must be evenly distributed and match the location of the rotor magnets.
- Attach the spools to the paper with tape. Prepare epoxy resin with hardener to fill the stator.
- To apply epoxy to fiberglass, use paint brush. If necessary, add small pieces of fiberglass. Do not fill the center of the coils to ensure sufficient cooling during operation. Try to avoid the formation of bubbles. The purpose of this operation is to secure the coils in place and flatten the stator, which will be located between the two rotors. The stator will not be a loaded unit and will not rotate.
To make it more clear, let's look at the whole process in pictures:
The finished coils are placed on wax paper with the layout diagram drawn. The three small circles in the corners in the photo above are the locations of the holes for attaching the stator bracket. The ring in the center prevents epoxy from getting into the center circle.
The coils are fixed in place. Fiberglass, in small pieces, is placed around the coils. The coil leads can be brought inside or outside the stator. Don't forget to leave enough lead length. Be sure to double-check all connections and test with a multimeter.
The stator is almost ready. Holes for mounting the bracket are drilled into the stator. When drilling holes, be careful not to hit the coil terminals. After completing the operation, trim off the excess fiberglass and, if necessary, sand the surface of the stator.
Stator bracket
The pipe for attaching the hub axle was cut to fit right size. Holes were drilled and threaded in it. In the future, bolts will be screwed into them that will hold the axle.
The figure above shows the bracket to which the stator will be attached, located between the two rotors.
The photo above shows the stud with nuts and bushing. Four of these studs provide the necessary clearance between the rotors. You can use nuts instead of a bushing bigger size, or cut the washers out of aluminum yourself.
Generator. Final assembly
A small clarification: a small air gap between the rotor-stator-rotor linkage (which is set by a pin with a bushing) provides higher power output, but the risk of damage to the stator or rotor increases when the axis is misaligned, which can occur in strong winds.
The left picture below shows a rotor with 4 clearance studs and two aluminum plates (which will be removed later).
The right picture shows the assembled and painted green color stator installed in place.
Build process:
1. Drill 4 holes in the upper rotor plate and tap threads for the stud. This is necessary to smoothly lower the rotor into place. Place the 4 studs against the aluminum plates glued earlier and install the upper rotor on the studs.
The rotors will be attracted to each other with very great force, which is why such a device is needed. Immediately align the rotors relative to each other according to the previously placed marks on the ends.
2-4. Alternately turning the studs with a wrench, lower the rotor evenly.
5. After the rotor rests against the bushing (providing clearance), unscrew the studs and remove the aluminum plates.
6. Install the hub (hub) and screw it on.
The generator is ready!
After installing the studs (1) and flange (2), your generator should look something like this (see picture above)
Stainless steel bolts serve to ensure electrical contact. It is convenient to use ring lugs on wires.
Cap nuts and washers are used to secure the connections. boards and blade supports for the generator. So, the wind generator is completely assembled and ready for testing.
To begin with, it is best to spin the windmill by hand and measure the parameters. If all three output terminals are short-circuited, the windmill should rotate very slowly. This can be used to stop a wind generator for service or for security reasons.
A wind generator can be used not only to provide electricity to your home. For example, this instance is made so that the stator generates a high voltage, which is then used for heating.
The generator discussed above produces 3-phase voltage with different frequencies (depending on wind strength), and for example in Russia a single-phase network of 220-230V is used, with a fixed network frequency of 50 Hz. This does not mean that this generator is not suitable for powering household appliances. The alternating current from this generator can be converted to direct current, with a fixed voltage. And direct current can already be used to power lamps, heat water, charge batteries, or a converter can be supplied to convert direct current into alternating current. But this is beyond the scope of this article.
In the picture above simple circuit bridge rectifier consisting of 6 diodes. It converts alternating current to direct current.
Wind generator installation location
The wind generator described here is mounted on a 4-meter pole on the edge of a mountain. The pipe flange, which is installed at the bottom of the generator, ensures easy and quick installation wind generator - just screw 4 bolts. Although for reliability, it is better to weld it.
Typically, horizontal wind generators “love” when the wind blows from one direction, unlike vertical wind turbines, where, due to the weather vane, they can turn and do not care about the direction of the wind. Because Since this wind turbine is installed on the shore of a cliff, the wind there creates turbulent flows from different directions, which is not very effective for this design.
Another factor to consider when choosing a location is the wind strength. An archive of data on wind strength for your area can be found on the Internet, although it will be very approximate, because it all depends on the specific location.
Also, an anemometer (a device for measuring wind force) will help in choosing the location for installing a wind generator.
A little about the mechanics of a wind generator
As you know, wind arises due to the difference in temperature of the earth's surface. When the wind rotates the turbines of a wind generator, it creates three forces: lifting, braking and impulse. Lift usually occurs over a convex surface and is a consequence of pressure differences. The wind braking force arises behind the blades of the wind generator; it is undesirable and slows down the windmill. The impulse force comes from the curved shape of the blades. When air molecules push the blades from behind, they then have nowhere to go and collect behind them. As a result, they push the blades in the direction of the wind. The greater the lift and impulse forces and the less the braking force, the faster the blades will rotate. The rotor rotates accordingly, which creates a magnetic field on the stator. As a result, electrical energy is generated.
Download the magnet layout diagram.
