Line 98: Line 98:
*2.8, 3.4, 3.7m/s averaging wind speeds.
*2.8, 3.4, 3.7m/s averaging wind speeds.
*hurricanes surface winds can get up to 105knots/140mph.
*hurricanes surface winds can get up to 105knots/140mph.
*In general, the wind resource is best on hilltops, ridge crests, and coastal locations that have excellent exposure to the prevailing winds from the east.<ref>
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy02osti/27602.pdf
</ref>
*The Dominican Republic averages 245 days of sunshine annually.<ref>
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/publications/insights/pdf/InsightsBackground.pdf
</ref>

Revision as of 03:24, 16 June 2012

This project is underway and this page is being used as a tool by the working parties to share and save information. Please excuse any errors or unprofessionalism of the page until it is finished in July.

Background

In 2011, a group of Humboldt State University students went to the Dominican Republic and joined with Dominican Students and La Yuca, a small Dominican neighborhood, to start the La Yuca small scale renewable energy project to light the classroom that was build in tandem. This year, other HSU students are in the country with students and community members to repair and improve the energy systems put in place the year before.

Objective

To repair and enhance previous renewable energy projects in La Yuca, as well as possibly bringing new projects to the neighborhood. These energy sources will be used to provide energy to the community's school.

Location

La Yuca del Naco, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Locationofturbine.png

Criteria


Table 1: Criteria

Criteria Weight Description
Durability    10 Durability is the systems ability to withstand the elements and to continue working without needing to be replaced
Effectiveness    10 Effectiveness is how consistenly the system can deliver energy to the school
Safety    7 Safety is the ability of the system to not cause danger, risk, or injury
R&D Cost    4 Research and Developement Cost is how much money our group will spend to test, design, and develope a working system
Reconstruction Cost    7 Reconstruction cost is how much the system would cost if it was to be rebuilt using our specifications and design
Reproducibility    8 Reproducibility of the design is defined as the ability to which the design is able to be reproduced and marketed
Payback Time    7 Payback Time is the amount of time it would take for the system to generate the amount of energy that would cost the same as the system
Ease of Maintenance    10 Ease of Maintenance is a measure of how simple it is to protect the system from the elements and to repair it if it stops working
Aesthetics    3 Aesthetics is a measure of how pleasing the system looks

Lit Review

Matilda

To come

Haresh

To come

Rene

To come

Eric

Gearing:

  • connect low speed shaft to high speed shaft which increases rotation speed of the shaft.
  • gear testing (efficiency, thermal characteristics, lubrication flow, tooth contact patterns, vibration, and endurance or fatigue.
  • if short bearings for gears, it may lose control, and cause gear tooth clearances or alignments of gears might be affected.
  • accurate geometry(gear housing, shafts, bearings, and gears)
  • increase load carrying capacity would allow use of a smaller gear which reduces cost.
  • gears same as bike
  • square shape, fast enough shaft location so that purchasing gears would be easier.
  • find how fast generator spins to find gear ratio.
  • increase gear ratio so turbine has potential to spin faster/add breaking to stop the rotor in gale force winds.
  • gears multiply mechanical force by turning the blade.
  • when larger gear spins 1 rotation, generator gear(smaller) spins faster to keep up. 50:1 gear ratio means generator spins 50 times to 1 big rotation.
  • use bike chain and gear in order to utilize a gear ratio to get the rotor to spin faster than the turbine.
  • blades turns gears which is attached to generator which converts the rotation to electrical energy sent through cable to a school, home, or business
  • kinetic energy(wind)-> mechanical energy(blades, shaft, gears)-> electrical energy(in cable to school)
  • breakwaters and magnetic gears are promising technical solutions for improving the fatigue life of offshore wind turbines.

Climate/wind power:

  • DR has a tropical monsoon climate in which elevation and trade winds bring an average annual temp to 25°C(77F), to 27°C(80.6F) in arid regions.
  • Santo Domingo is relatively constant, averaging around 24°C in Jan and 27°C in July.
  • monsoon rain season lasts from May to Nov.
  • 53in of rain annually
  • Hurricane season is from June until Nov.
  • Hurricanes usually move from the atlantic north coast.
  • annual wind speeds are between 6 and 7m/s.
  • southern regions have greatest number of wind source.
  • wind power 24w/m^2
  • 2.8, 3.4, 3.7m/s averaging wind speeds.
  • hurricanes surface winds can get up to 105knots/140mph.
  • In general, the wind resource is best on hilltops, ridge crests, and coastal locations that have excellent exposure to the prevailing winds from the east.[1]
  • The Dominican Republic averages 245 days of sunshine annually.[2]
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