Testing Blades

The blades were tested using 1100 rpm on the fan. The results of number of blades were:

Number of Blades	Voltage (Volts)	Current (milliAmperes)	Power (milliWatts)
2	4.80	33.92	162.82
3	5.80	38.70	224.46
4	5.72	36.00	205.92
6	6.41	39.00	249.99

(Power was computed by Power = Voltage x Amperage)

     Based on the results the turbine will most likely have 6 blades. We have also redesigned the blade to be thinner, have more curve, and it tapers to a point on the outside edge. This will make the blades lighter and increase drag to hopefully be able to increase power.

Figure 1: Second Turbine Blade Design

     We also were given a piece of plywood 3/16" thick, courtesy of Calhoun Residence Hall, to use for the disks that will hold the blades in place to the center shaft. We will be cutting the disks out using the laser cutter (VersaLaser VLS 2.30) at the Drexel Machine Shop.

Figure 2: AutoCAD drawing for Blade Stabilizers