Competency Demonstration Report: Small Wind Turbine Project Analysis

This report is a competency demonstration report detailing a student's involvement in a small wind turbine project. The project focused on providing power to rural and remote areas using renewable energy. The student's responsibilities included designing the windmill, selecting an appropriate motor for electricity generation, and assisting in project documentation and team collaboration. The report describes the engineering knowledge and skills applied, including mechanical design principles and the analysis of existing wind turbine designs. The student faced challenges in motor selection and testing, which were resolved through research and collaboration with university resources. The project culminated in the design and testing of an industrial-grade motor to optimize power output. The report concludes with a project review, highlighting the potential of small-scale wind turbines and the student's contributions to the project's success. The student's work demonstrates the ability to apply engineering principles to develop a practical solution for renewable energy generation.

COMPETENCY
DEMONSTRATION REPORT
Career Episode 1
KUPPA KRISHNA CHAITANYA

CE 1.1 Project Information
Name of the project: Small Wind Turbine Project
Location of the project: [PLEASE FILL]
Project Duration: [PLEASE FILL]
Organization: [PLEASE FILL]
Role and Designation during the time: Team Member
CE 1.2 Project Background
CE 1.2.1 Characteristics of the project
The small wind turbine project has been developed based on the idea of providing power
to the rural and remote areas of the world. The wind turbines would be able to be used for
providing power to different communities, homes and businesses and to miscellaneous
equipment’s which are able to work on unattended operations. The small wind turbine project are
being developed across the world and are being installed in rural settings for domestic as well an
international market. The project was based on the theory of renewable energy. The project has
been developed with the special theoretical emphasis on specification, application and the wind
turbine concept.

CE 1.2.2 Objectives developed for the project
I had taken great care for the completion of the project by helping my team members. I
had also helped my team members to get into meetings and understand the objectives of the
working of the project. The objectives which I had set during the process of development of the
project were as follows:
 To implement the small wind turbine project at the lowest cost.
 To provide power to the rural areas at a low cost and high production.
CE 1.2.3 My area of work
For the development of the project I was responsible for the designing of the wind mill
that would be responsible for main electricity power generation. I had also helped in the finding
of the best motor for the wind mill which would be responsible for the production of the
electricity when the blades of the wind mill rotates. The wind mill needed to be designed in such
a way so that the size of the project should be small and the power to be generated is to be of
reasonable voltage to sustain a certain mediocre household. With these thought I had helped my
team mates in the development of the small wind mill project.

CE 1.2.4 Project Group
Figure 1: Team Member associated in this project
CE 1.2.5 My responsibilities throughout the project
For the project I was responsible for the designing of the wind mill with special emphasis
on the use of the motor for the generation of the power form the wind mill. This was to be the
major portion of the working model of the wind mill. Apart from this I had helped my team
members in completion of the project and also in the complete documentation of the project. I
was an active team member and helped in the resolving of the issues which arose during the
process of implementation of the project.

CE 1.3 Distinctive Activity
CE 1.3.1 Comprehending the theory of the project
I had followed the process of the implementation of the wind turbine project with the idea
of mechanical and electrical subsystems. The machine would be capable of converting wind
energy into electrical energy and then supply it to the surrounding houses and neighbourhood. I
had kept in mind to produce the project at a low cost and eventually produce power with enough
power to eliminate the use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy. I had faced the majority design
problem of the goal to keep the project energy cost at the lowest possible point of the existing
system of energy production process and systems.
CE 1.3.2 Engineering knowledge and skills applied in the project
For the project I had used my mechanical engineering skills with the emphasis on the
process of development of a complete project which when implemented can be used on a large
scale basis. The basic concept for the implementation of the project I had taken help from
different large scale projects already in progress or completed. These helped me to learn the
drawbacks and the positive point for the project. I had taken great care in the process
implementation of the project with the sole purpose of keeping the cost of production a slow as
possible as well as producing a higher margin of electricity.
CE 1.3.3 Accomplishment and task performed
I had divided up the project design process into 12 different sections which were taken
care of separately on the basis of the project timeline. Firstly I had designed the structure of the
blades of the wind mill. This was important based on the fact that a slight miscalculation would
burn the coil of the motor of break the whole wind mill down. I had then taken care of revising

the previous designs of the commercial wind mills to understand the process of development of
the blades of the wind mill rotor. I had then surveyed the different topologies which can be the
possible locations for the setting up of the wind mills. I then calculated the load estimate for the
wind mill that helped me to understand the effective coil load of the motor. This helped me to
predict the possible performance of the wind mill. After these were found out the cost of the
project was estimated to find the lowest possible cost. Once the cost was able to be determined I
perfected the design once more so that the output of the wind mill can be elevated and the
subsequent cost for the production reduced.
CE 1.3.4 Identified issues and their solutions
The problem which I had faced during the implementation of the project was with the
unavailability of the proper motor device for the wind mill. There were a lot of commercially
available motors but I was unable to understand the best model to use for the project. After the
analytical study of the different motors I had successfully decided on the model that was to be
used for the wind mill. Once the motor was finalised I had to test out the motor with the output
voltage of the motor when it has been connected to the wind mill. For this process I wanted to
use a lathe machine which would help me to control the rate of rotation of the motor and
effectively find the output voltage of the motor. This was the second issue which I had faced
during the implementation of the project. I had then contacted my project supervisor who had
helped me in getting in touch with a neighbouring university. The university had agreed to help
me in completing my project and decided to let me use their lathe machine for the findings of the
motor output power.

CE 1.3.5 Plan to produce creative and innovative work
For the better implementation of the project I had decided to use an industrial grade
motor which I had disintegrated to test the production property. I had connected the motor with a
lathe machine and then measured the power output from the machine. This helped me to
understand the power which can be produced form the use of the motor with the wind mill. I
have termed this portion of the working of the project to be the most innovative work of the
project.
CE 1.3.6 Collaborative work
I had worked with my team members for the completion of the project. With the help of
my supervisor I had collaborate with my team members for the discussion of the project and also
followed the deliverables for the technical theories of the project. Apart from these situations I
had initiated most of the team meetings with my supervisor and for the resolving of the issues
related to the technical specifications and for the resolving of the issues. I then made prototypes
for the validation of the findings. Once the prototypes cleared the test I had started the large scale
development of the project.
CE 1.4 Project Review
CE 1.4.1 Project Overview
During the course of development of the project I had learnt that the use of a small scale
wind turbine was an effective source of power for the households. Though it can be said that
problems can arise due to the weather conditions and might not be able to deliver the required
amount of electricity that is to be generated. All the different wind turbines of the modern day

has the application of lift force for the rotational motion of the generator. The resulted project is
of a small scale production unit of 0.5 – 2 kW electrical energy. The induction generator
produces an AC power which then gets inverted into DC and is then governed with the help of a
shunt generator.
CE 1.4.2 My contribution to work
For the duration of the project I has helped my team mates in the development of the
wind mill for the project. I had also helped in the finding of the proper motor for the
development of the wind mill. The motor was the most integral part of the project that was
responsible for the development of the current. With the help of the knowledge in the field of
mechanical theories I was able to complete the designing of the project. I had then helped in the
development of the complete project which later helped me to complete the documentation of the
project for the submission at my university.