Turner, Roland James (2010) Design of a Small Wind Turbine for a Rural Pumping Application. [USQ Project]
Abstract
This project involves the design of small, electricity generating wind turbine to be integrated into a stock water pumping system.
This motivation for this project comes from the need to upgrade a petrol powered pump used for watering livestock on my parent’s property. This background in agriculture along with a strong interest in alternative energy has contributed to the selection of this project.
Historically, wind energy has been used to pump water in remote locations with the use of both European and American farm windmills. In the last 2-3 decades however, wind pumping systems have been replaced largely internal combustion engines. With the rapidly increasing interest in more environmentally friendly alternatives to fossil fuels, there is now a large market for ‘green’ power solutions.
The objectives of this project include the design a turbine that will reliably, cost effectively and safely provide sufficient electrical power to pump water to a storage tank for watering stock. Identify current designs and investigate innovations/improvements that can be integrated into this design that will separate it from those now available. The turbine should incorporate systems that make it easy to assemble, erect and maintain.
Some innovative features of my turbine include a hydraulic tilt-down tower to assist with construction and maintenance by allowing the tower to be lowered at any time without the need for a large crane or climbing the tower. I have also selected glass-fibre pultrusions for the main sections of the tower due to their excellent strength to weight ratio and low cost.
I believe that the design I have produced will fulfill the needs for this particular application. This design would also be appropriate for providing power in other applications, such as charging deep cell batteries in remote homes. I do not have the money or manufacturing facilities in Toowoomba to fabricate a prototype for this project, but hope to do so in the near future.
|
Statistics for this ePrint Item |
| Item Type: | USQ Project |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Engineering and Surveying - No Department (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Epaarachchi, Jayantha |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Feb 2024 02:01 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Feb 2024 02:01 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Small Wind Turbine; Rural Pumping Application |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52076 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Archive Repository Staff Only |
