Electricity-Generating Wind Turbine from Electric Bicycle Motor

Abstract

Wind energy is one type of renewable energy which does not cause pollution. Presently, there is a technological development to apply wind energy for the electricity generation. Wind energy is used to replace fossil energy, such as oil and coal, causing environmental pollution. In Thailand, the studies of wind energy application to generate electricity have been promoted. Nowadays, there is number of small and medium wind turbines used for electricity generation in buildings, houses and small communities. This project took a 48 volts, 1,000 watt electric bicycle motor to apply in order to make a saline county wind turbine to generate electricity. The turbine consisted of 6 rotor blades. Each blade was 1.5 meters long, and was made from 150 x 130 centimeter synthetic fabrics. A rotor of the turbine was connected with a rotor of the electric bicycle motor through a 1:7.5 gearbox to increase the rotational speed of the electric bicycle motor. From the experiment, it was found that the invented saline county wind turbine started rotating at the wind speed of 1.5 m/s and generated 3 phases of AC voltage. Average voltage in each phase was 6 volts at the rotational speed of 60-80 rpm. As seen from the test, at the maximum wind speed of 4.7 m/s, 11-12 volts of AC voltage in a single phase was produced with the approximate 130-140 rpm rotational speed of the motor. When connecting the generated AC voltage to rectifier and filter circuits to convert it into DC voltage for battery charging purpose, the maximum wind speed at 4.7 m/s generated approximately 15-16 volts of DC voltage. This capacity was sufficient for 12-volt battery charging in a real use.