Running head: PROGRESS REPORT X 1

EMWiT- Progress Report X

Lauren Warner, Paulina Hall, and Shannon Woolfolk

March 23rd, 2017

Dr. Psaker

The Governors School at Innovation Park

Objectives:

Make the wind turbine more stable and fix the electric motor. Continue updating the website.
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Abstract

Progress:

EMWiT competed in the Regional Science fair on March 11, 2017. Progress has been

minimal since then, due to snow days and the leadership conference, preventing significant amount

of progress. After the Science Fair, focus shifted toward finding the problem that is preventing the

electric motor from working. The original diagnosis is that the wire should not be in direct contact

with the copper plates of the commutator. The carbon brushes proved to be ineffective in staying

in their positions on the aluminum motor frame, so small copper pieces will be soldered to the wire

to act in the place of the carbon brushes. These copper pieces will allow better contact with the

commutator and allow a current to pass through the wire. This will then create a magnetic field,

propelling the armature with the repelling force of the magnets. The wind turbine became loose on

its stand during initial testing before the science fair and the metal axis began to cut through the

sheet metal it was attached to. The stand had to be redesigned to withstand the force of air

resistance and the weight of the turbine. Plastic buffers were put on either side of the thin metal

stand where the axis goes through to make the axis of the wind turbine more secure, preventing it

from tilting down towards the gears. One piece was placed upwards on one side, the other placed

downwards on the other side, applying opposite forces to hold the axis away from the metal frame

and prevent further cutting of the metal. The plastic is also less likely to slip out of place because

it has no screws that will be impacted with vibrations. Larger screws were put into the stand to

prevent shaft collars from slipping out of place, making the stand sturdier for future testing. The

website was updated with more pictures about testing and data results, which were shown in the

last progress report.

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Work Planned for the Next Two Weeks:

The electric motor will be finished and tested to see if operation is successful. Once the

electric motor works, data testing will begin with a 6-volt battery. The initial voltage of the battery

will be measured and then connected the motor to the battery to make it run for a certain period of

time. After the timer ends, the voltage of the battery will be measured. The battery will then be

recharged for testing with the wind turbine combined in a parallel circuit with the battery. Testing

will be repeated multiple times for accuracy. The website will continue to be updated with more

pictures and videos of testing.

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Data and Results

No new data since last progress report.

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References

No references at this time.