Running head: EMWIT: HALL, WARNER, WOOLFOLK

EMWiT
Electric Motor with Wind Turbine Component to Extend Battery Life

RESEARCH PAPER AND NOTEBOOK

PAULINA HALL, LAUREN WARNER, AND SHANNON WOOLFOLK

EMWIT: HALL, WARNER, WOOLFOLK

Acknowledgements

Our thanks to the Governors School at Innovation Park, our mentor, Dr. Psaker, Dr.

Gutierrez for aiding us with 3D printing our materials, Ms. Massie, for helping us understand

physics, Prince William County Schools for affording us this wonderful opportunity, and finally

our parents and classmates for pushing us to always pursue success.

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Abstract

EMWiT is an effort to make electric motors and cars more accessible to the general public

by extending the time the motor can run before an external power source is needed to recharge the

battery. By introducing a wind turbine in parallel with the battery, a clean energy source is able to

supplement the voltage drawn by the battery. A 9 V battery was used to power an electric motor

for fifteen minutes to establish a control and repeated three times to find the voltage difference.

The wind turbine was then added as an additional power source to supplement the charge drawn

from the battery. This was then tested for fifteen minutes with the motor to find the voltage

difference with the wind turbine. Further testing would include application of the wind turbine-

battery combination with an electric motor similar in size to electric car motors with direct

mounting on the vehicle. This is meant to show the applicability of the experiment to a larger

testing scenario. Results show a 52.9% difference between the averages of the voltage differences

after three trials. When the battery was combined in a parallel circuit with the wind turbine, a

significant decrease in the voltage difference was observed. Further testing can be applied to

electric cars to determine whether wind turbines are effective in extending the run time of electric

cars before recharging is necessary. The idea behind the project was to make electric cars a better

alternative to carbon-emitting gasoline motors.

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Background and Introduction

Over the past decade, reports of a significant increase in the planets temperature have

become common. This temperature rise, also known as climate change or global warming, is the

effect of increased carbon emissions into the atmosphere. In order to reduce the carbon footprint

of humans, there is an increased effort to reduce the dependence of humans on burning fossil fuels.

Due to this, there is a high demand for electric cars, with Teslas 2018 Model 3 electric car

possessing a waiting list of almost 200,000 people and counting (Fehrenbacher). The goal for

manufacturers is to make electric cars more convenient by maximizing battery efficiency and

affordability for consumers. Electric cars, when using an external power source to recharge the

battery, can take anywhere from 3.5 to 10 hours to fully recharge (Popely). This proves inefficient

for working adults who have a travel average of almost 20,000 miles a year with the ratio of quick

recharge stations for electric cars to gas stations in the United States only 1 in every 11.2.

Innovators are searching for ways to maximize the run time of the electric motor before the battery

source needs to be recharged externally. EMWiT addresses these problems by providing a clean,

alternate power source to supplement the batterys charge for the electric motor system. This will

thereby increase the run time of the car and decrease the need for immediate external recharging.

The wind turbine uses a renewable, environmentally-friendly source of energy to help decrease

carbon emissions, creating a natural progression towards the goal of eliminating the use of fossil

fuels in transportation altogether.

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Experimental Design Diagram (E.D.D.)

Title:

Electric Motor with Wind Turbine Component to Extend Battery

Life (EMWiT)

Question:

Can an electric motor be modified to lengthen the run time by

incorporating a wind turbine in parallel with the battery?

Hypothesis:

If a wind turbine and an electric motor are combined in a

parallel circuit with a battery, then the wind turbine will provide an
additional power source, lengthening the run time of the motor and
therefore maximizing the efficiency of the motor

Independent Variable (I.V.): Power source of the motor

D-cell battery in parallel with

Levels of IV D-cell battery*
a wind turbine

Repeated Trials 3 3

*The D-cell battery is the control for the experiment

Dependent Variable:
The run time of the motor will be measured using a simple stopwatch as the motor
is first connected to a D-cell battery and run until the battery is dead. The same will
be done with the battery and wind turbine in parallel.
Constants:
Initial charge of the battery, motor size and voltage rating, wind turbine, wind
turbine voltage and current production, wire resistivity, battery size

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Materials

3D printed armature

28 AWG magnet wire

Iron filings

Epoxy glue

Stainless steel epoxy putty

Solid aluminum rod (0.8125 diameter)

36x36 aluminum sheet metal

22 neodymium magnets (2 length)

3D printed wind turbine

Insulated wire

6V battery

Generator

D cell battery

Vex parts

Timer

Photogate

Multimeter

6x6 copper plate

Differential voltage probe

Accelerometer

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Procedures

Procedure for Construction:

Electric Motor-

1. 3D print the armature frame using Autodesk Inventor software.

2. Combine the armature frame and aluminum rod using epoxy glue.

3. Wrap 28 AWG magnet wire around the spokes of the armature frame, leaving loops on one

end of the frame.

4. Hollow out the spokes using a drill and fill the small holes with iron filings using a funnel.

5. Construct the commutator of the motor using copper sheet metal and epoxy putty. The

commutator should be cut into small pieces of width in.

6. Solder the copper wire loops onto the copper pieces of the armature, leaving sufficient

room for the brushes.

7. Glue the neodymium magnets to the aluminum sheet metal using epoxy. The surface of the

aluminum must be roughened first using a file.

8. Wrap the aluminum sheet cylindrically around the completed armature, securing it with

aluminum rivets.

9. Attach the brushes to the exterior of the motor, allowing them to rest against only two

commutator pieces at once.

10. Attach insulated wire to the brushes and prepare them for connection to the battery,

soldering them into place.

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Wind Turbine-

1. 3D print the wind turbine blades and hub using a constant scale factor.

2. Glue two pieces of metal to either side of the open hub, drilling a hole in the center of each

to attach the metal rod.

3. Using epoxy glue, attach the metal rod to the hub.

4. Construct a mount for the wind turbine using vex parts with a gear system to amplify the

rotation of the wind turbine.

5. Using epoxy glue, attach a smaller toothed gear to the generator. This should be included

in the wind turbine mount and system. Leave the two prongs in an easily-accessible

location. Attach wires to the prongs to prepare for testing.

Procedure for Testing:

1. Check voltage of the wind turbine using a differential voltage probe while wind resistance

is produced. Use LabQuest and LoggerPro software to graph a voltage vs. time, showing

the voltage generation by the wind turbine alone.

2. Measure the initial voltage of a 9 V battery and connect it in series to the electric motor,

leaving one end unattached.

3. Start a timer for 15 min, connecting the circuit at the same time the timer is started.

4. Leave the motor running for 15 min, disconnecting it from the battery as the timer ends.

5. Measure the voltage of the battery once finished, allowing a stabilization period for the

voltage and record it in the chart.

6. Repeat two additional times for a total of three trials, recording the data on the chart.

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7. Attach the motor to the wind turbine and 9 V battery in a parallel circuit per the diagram,

leaving one end of the battery unattached until ready to commence testing.

8. The initial voltage of the battery needs to be measured using the multimeter on the 20 V

setting. Record this value in the corresponding location on the chart.

9. Set a timer for 15 min and start it at the same time the motor is attached to the battery. With

wind resistance produced while driving at 17.5 m/s, the wind turbine should be allowed to

spin.

10. Continue for 15 min until the timer ends, detaching the battery from the motor and wind

turbine.

11. Measure the final voltage of the battery and record it on the chart.

12. Repeat an additional two times for a total of three trials, recording the data on the chart.

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Images from Construction and Procedures

Figure 1. Supplies include: 6x6 inch copper plate for the commutator, a 6 volt battery for the

electric motor, 1000 g of iron filings for the armature, magnet wire for the electric motor's

electromagnetic field, a small motor for the wind turbine, carbon brushes for the electric motor an

aluminum rod for the electric motor axle and neodymium magnets for the electric motor (not

included in picture). 3D printing components were emailed to George Mason Professor Dr.

Gutierrez for printing.

Figure 2. This is an image of the finished armature with the new commutator. The old commutator

was taken off with pliers and a multi tool saw. Then, using epoxy putty, a new commutator was

formed with 10 pieces of newly cut copper. These pieces were longer, smoother, and had more

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defined edges than the previous pieces, providing a smoother surface for the soldering of the wires

and the brushes to make contact. The armature was drilled with 6 holes on each spoke and filled

with iron filings in order to provide a more stable magnetic field for the electromagnet. The holes

were then covered with duct tape to make sure the filings did not escape. The magnetic wire was

then soldered to the commutator pieces to complete the armature.

Figure 3. The wind turbine blades were 3D printed and there are 17 in total. These blades were

attached to the hub once it was printed again. The blades measure approximately 4 in or 10.2 cm

long. The base measures 4 cm or 1.5 in long. There are two blades that were misprinted that only

measure 3.25 in long. The hub was printed incorrectly and was 3D printed again to match the blade

size of the wind turbine. The new hub was still small, but the blades were able to inserted, but with

some difficulty. This took longer than expected due to the tight fit for each slot, and the fan blades

had to be inserted using a hammer and buffer. Vex parts, a sprocket, and gears were used to amplify

the rotation of the axle on the electric motor, so the power output of the wind turbine could be

maximized.

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Figures 5 and 6. In order to lessen the load on the battery, the wind turbine was connected in

parallel with the battery. The voltage produced by the wind turbine then supplied some of the load

that used to be completely on the battery. A. LED light was inserted in the circuit where the wind

turbine and alligators clips to act as a diode. This made the current, generated by the wind turbine,

travel one way, to the motor, instead of allowing the battery to power both the electric motor and

the wind turbine motor.

Figure 7. Testing for the wind turbine consisted of the wind turbine being held outside the window

of a car while traveling at an average of thirty miles per hour. The wind turbine had to be held at a

optimal angle to allow the wind to pass through the blades and rotate the turbine without

overloading the wind turbine

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Data and Results

Voltage (V) vs. Time (s) Preliminary Testing of Wind Turbine

Graph 1. The graph shows the potential, or voltage, as a function of time for the wind turbine.

While traveling at varying speed, the wind turbine produced a significant voltage over the

maximum ability the voltmeter could measure. A multimeter used showed up to 13 V being

produced. This shows that the wind turbine is effective at producing a voltage and a current.

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Voltage Drop After 15 min (V)

Trial Battery Wind Turbine and Battery

1 0.94 0.42
2 0.77 0.42
3 0.61 0.51
Average 0.773333 0.45
Table 1. The table has the values for the voltage drop after 15 min. Per the procedure, the battery

was first hooked up to the motor and then placed in parallel with the wind turbine to allow the

wind turbine to supplement the load of the motor. The table shows a significant change in the

voltage difference after 15 min with a percent difference between the average values of 52.9%.

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Voltage Drop
0.77 0.773333333
0.8
0.7 0.61

0.6 0.51
0.45
0.5 0.42

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
2 3 Average

Battery Wind Turbine and Battery

Graph 2. The graph shows the voltage drop in a bar graph to show the significant change in the

voltage when the wind turbine was incorporated. The percent difference between the averages was

52.9%, showing the significant effect of the wind turbine on the battery life.

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Data Analysis

Data was collected to measure the voltage of a 9-volt battery before and after carrying the

load of powering solely the motor, in addition to incorporating the wind turbine into the circuit. In

the first trial with the battery connected to the motor, there was a 0.94 voltage drop. In the second

trial there was a 0.77 voltage drop; in the third trial there was a 0.61 voltage drop. The average

voltage drop was 0.773 volts for the battery as a stand-alone power source for the motor. In the

first trial with the battery and wind turbine connected in a parallel to the motor, there was a 0.42

voltage drop; in the second trial there was a 0.42 voltage drop; and in the third trial there was a

0.51 voltage drop. The average voltage drop with the wind turbine was significantly lower than

the average voltage drop when the battery was powering the motor. The average drop in voltage

was 0.45-volts when the battery and wind turbine were connected in parallel to power the motor.

The percent difference of the two average voltage decreases was 52.9 percent. This supports our

hypothesis because there was a substantial difference between the average drops in voltage, with

the wind turbine in parallel with the battery being the smaller of the two averages.

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Conclusion

The hypothesis was supported by the data and was proven especially by the percent

difference of 52.9%. When the wind turbine was incorporated in parallel with the battery to power

the motor, the voltage decrease of the battery was significantly reduced. This shows the influence

of the wind turbine on the voltage drawn from the battery and supports the research prior to

completing the experiment. This experiment is highly applicable beyond the scope of scientific

experimentation. The concept of applying a clean source of energy to power an electric motor can

be implemented in electric cars and make them more accessible to the public.

While attempting to complete the experiment, there were some minor issues that were

faced. The wind turbine was difficult to test without a high-powered fan and there were many

issues in the process of 3D printing. The blades of the fan broke off on three separate occasions

and were a hassle to combine with the small generator. Given that the experiment is a year-long

research project, there were some minor modifications made to the experiment. An electric motor

is almost finished constructed and the experiment used a small electric motor bought online instead

of the self-constructed one. However, the results still showed that the concept was correct.

If this experiment was to be completed an additional time, there would be a high-powered

fan used instead of driving to produce the wind resistance. At the same time though, this showed

an accurate representation of how the wind turbine would react to the forces. Additionally, the

wind turbine would be constructed out of materials that would better withstand the forces of wind

at 18 m/s. Further testing will include a larger electric motor to show the possibilities beyond a

small toy motor for electric cars.

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References and Bibliography

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http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/motor.htm/printable

Bullis, K. (2008, December 1). A Design for Cheaper Wind Power. Retrieved October 10, 2016,

from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/411274/a-design-for-cheaper-wind-power/ .

Cowern Papers. (n.d.). motorsanddrives.com - purchase industrial motors and drives online.

Retrieved from http://www.motorsanddrives.com/cowern/motorterms2-print.htm.

Emadi, A., Lee, Y. J., & Rajashekara, K. (2008). Power electronics and motor drives in electric,

hybrid electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. IEEE Transactions on industrial

electronics, 55(6), 2237-2245.

Fehrenbacher, K. (2016). Get Ready For a Long Wait Before Getting Your Tesla Model 3.

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model-3/.

MSC Industrial Direct Co. (2016). Motors Technical Information | MSC Industrial Supply Co.

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Popely, R. (2013, November 09). How Quickly Does the Tesla Model S Battery Charge?

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does-the-tesla-model-s-charge/ .

Slootweg, J. G., De Haan, S. W. H., Polinder, H., & Kling, W. L. (2003). General model for

representing variable speed wind turbines in power system dynamics simulations. IEEE

Transactions on power systems, 18(1), 144-151.

Song, S. H., Kang, S. I., & Hahm, N. K. (2003, February). Implementation and control of grid

connected AC-DC-AC power converter for variable speed wind energy conversion system.

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In Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 2003. APEC'03. Eighteenth

Annual IEEE (Vol. 1, pp. 154-158). IEEE.

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