R&D Wind Mill & Buggy Vehicle Project

BUGGY IN VBIT…

CI & MS materials are used for making body and frame strong, which can resist 1.5 ton weight and resistance towards the accidents even at 120kmph speeds, the frame balances even if it is at 60 degrees side inclination, because the frame is equal to the weight of the engine makes the balancing of the dune buggy.

Four stroke engine with four speed, Driven by 416cc and 18.5 bhp, rear diesel engine with 2 seated capacity, this All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) dimensions are 5.10ft height, 4.3ft width and total weight of ATV is 179kgs, which gives mileage of 31.6kmpl when this ATV roars to life, it is just ready for any road condition. Put together by the Mechanical Engineering students of Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology (VBIT),

Designed by a team of 4 students P Uday kumar raju, Arroju Rahul, P Threenadh, M Ravinder & fabricated in 20 days, just with 70,000 rupees, the vehicle is capable of safe operation over rough land terrain including obstructions such as rocks, sand jumps, steep inclines, mud and shallow water. The hallmark of this ATV is the ruggedness of its structure and the simplicity of its design ,

Students say, it has been driven and tested on rough terrain and found to be stable at 40 kmph which they describe as appreciable given the capacity of the engine. Students ended up working out entire nights at time to ensure its completion in time. “We are working hard to solve the engineering and managerial problems that we faced,” says Uday, a student of the team that put the ATV together.

Wind Mill

The Project is executed by 20 students of 3 different branches, 13 students from Mechanical Engineering – Manufacturing of Structure and Blades, 5 students from Electrical Engineering – Generator, 2 students from Electronics Engineering – Speed Control and Circuit Design.

The prime objective of this project is to enhance the technical skills of the young engineers. The Wind turbine presently generates a power of 500 watts, taking wind as a source of energy and which at a later stage, on modification can also be utilized towards the power supply of the college as well.

A few concepts of physics such as strength, balance, production, storage and usage are used in the project. These stages were well planned and executed by the team, successfully for erecting the 25 feet tall wind turbine on the terrace of the 60 feet tall mechanical building in the college.

Standing 25 feet tall as a symbol of renewable energy source to the entire Aushapur area, it enhanced the appearance of the college and also the technical knowhow for the students.

Wind energy basics

Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth’s surface, and rotation of the earth. “Wind energy” or “wind power” describes the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power which in turn generates electricity.
Wind turbines, like aircraft propeller blades, turn in the moving air and power an electric generator that supplies an electric current. Simply stated, a wind turbine is the opposite of a fan.

Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity.

The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, that is connected to a generator and produces electricity.

The specifications of the wind mill are as follows:

Mechanical specifications:

• The Mechanical part of the project deals with the manufacturing of the Structure, Blades and Rotary components and their assembling.

• The structure of wind turbine is 20 feet long and constructed with iron and steel materials.
  Each of the four aluminum blades are of 11 feet diameter and are placed exactly at equal angles of separation (90 degrees).

• A stopper has been arranged not to cover yaw beyond 360º. This restriction is essential to avoid the wrapping of wires over the column.

• A smooth axel is placed at the bottom of the generator and wind blade set to allow 300º movement of the system when the direction of wind changes.

• The Wind speed is ~4 m/sec, in and around the college as per MBLM data, VBIT. Optimum wind speed required for operating the wind turbine for generating higher output is 8m/sec.

• In the first attempt, when the wind turbine was erected with the above specifications, an 8V AC output was produced as open circuit which was not be sufficient for charging a battery of 12V which requires ~16V output. Therefore, a gear set up of gear ratio 2.5 was introduced in order to maximize the output.

Electrical Specifications:

• The Electrical part of the project deals with building a Generator. The Generator specifications are:
  Completely 1-phase winding

• 24 poles permanent magnet has been created and developed for its rotor.

• 20 gauges Copper wire is used for winding.

• Class B insulation has been carried over. The insulation liquid used for the finished stator is Elmo luft 1A-golden, which is a fast drying insulating varnish that prevents moisture deposition in windings after heat blow. Fiber plastic threads and bamboo slits are used to bind the windings together and keep them intact in slots.

• 15 mill Mylar sheet for the slot insulation.

Electronic specifications:

• Since the air flow rate is not constant, it is desired to maintain speed regulation and keep stable rpm. In order to do that, the speed regulator has been incorporated for the wind turbine by the electronics students.

Output

The output being generated at output terminals is ~13V & 500 watts.