Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine: Assignment 4

Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine: Assignment 4
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Specific engineering and manufacturing process planned to be used in developing the new technology
The vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) would be manufactured according to the design determined following the ideation process and comprehensive market research. The process of manufacturing will basically entail manufacturing the tilt rotors and the blades separately and then attaching them together later on. It is of note that the VAWTs are designed to be able to function even in sites with low wind speeds. Locally available materials and easy to manufacture parts would be used. A small model of the VAWT would be built and tested painstakingly within a wind tunnel at wind speeds of at least 4 m/s at as high as 101 m/s. Since the proposed design is based on tilt rotor technology – a highly effectual technique of harnessing wind power cost-effectively – the turbine would be self-starting and generate adequate energy at low airspeeds (Rolland et al., 2013).
Step 1: Manufacturing the tilt rotor
A dampened articulating rotor would be manufactured first. This would allow the whole turbine to lean into the wind in order to produce higher torque at lower speeds of wind, thereby producing higher amounts of power even with varying wind speeds. Elastomeric bands and pushrods, which are essentially technologically advanced rubber bands, as well as pull/push rods, would also be made separately. The rotor would be made to slant to some extent in order to allow the turbine to self-start and let the VAWT turbine to produce electricity without heavy blades, tower heights, electronics, clutching or noise that come along with conventional wind turbines (Chong et al., 2013). Locking magnets would be incorporated in the turbine during the manufacturing process. These would hold the rotor in place and stop any inadvertent spinning thus creating an in-built safety feature. In essence, the rotor would be made to be fully articulate and set the airfoil angle of attack thus allowing self-starting electricity generation.
Step 2: Manufacturing the airfoils
The airfoils or wings/blades would be manufactured separately from the rotor. These airfoils would be manufactured such that they would be able to rotate parallel to the ground, which is very dissimilar from the traditional wind turbines. This would generate about 1.5 kilowatts of electricity, which is adequate for small applications such as home or workshop (Chong et al., 2013). The airfoils would look like the wings of a helicopter. Long arms would be fabricated that would allow the turbine to create higher torque so that it could be able to generate more electricity with fewer revolutions per minute, which serves to decrease wear and tear.
Step 3: Attaching the blades and the rotor together
The elastomeric bands and pushrods would be attached to the airfoils/blades of the turbine in order to help in protecting the turbine from storm damage. It is of note that pull/push rods would adjust to the wind thereby allowing the rotor to tilt devoid of overworking the turbine. In general, incorporating these essential features would allow the VAWT turbine to effectively function in wind speeds of up to 100 m/s (Rolland et al., 2013). The turbine would be manufactured with ...