Lab 5: Savonius Wind Turbine Construction and Testing

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Description: In this lab, students use soda bottles, wire, and magnets to construct small wind turbines on wooden bases. They use the Savonius wind turbine design and troubleshoot various problems that come up, finally calculating voltage and current when finished.

Speaker: Amit Gandhi

Lab 5 Instructions

Lab 5 Writeup Assignment

  1. How much voltage and current were you able to get from your turbine? Calculate how much power you are producing.
  2. What kind of modifications do you think you could make to increase the output?
  3. What aspects of this project do you suspect might be difficult to accomplish in the Nicaragua or a family living on $2/day2?
  4. Are there substitutes you could use to make these aspects more applicable to Nicaragua or a family living on $2/day?