Propeller type for model wind turbine

by Greg Muth
(Northfield, MN)

I am designing model wind turbines for science education in our local schools. One type of experiment is to have the students try different propellers to see which one was best.

Being a novice to RC airplanes I would appreciate some advice on where to begin i.e. what three (inexpensive please) props would be good to compare to see which one works best for a turbine.

Comments for
Propeller type for model wind turbine

Click here to add your own comments

brushless outrunner?
by: Matt

I'm thinking maybe a brushless outrunner might be best. There are no brushes to cause resistance and you could probably get away without having gearbox.

I would check an APC prop made for small electric planes. These are really light. I would say shoot for the largest diameter lowest pitch for the motor you choose. Then you can increase the pitch gradually.

But the output of a brushless motor would be more like AC than DC though, that would probably be a problem

Just my thoughts, I'm no rocket scientist though, lol

good luck!

More detail for model turbines
by: Greg

The design of the model wind turbine needs to be fairly simple in order to be a good teaching tool. I have some small DC motors (0.5V at 1000rpm) to use as generators and have ordered some gearboxes (Tamiya 89916, 889917) to experiment with how the gear ratios will affect the motor speed with respect to wind/prop speed.

I think your question of torque is exactly the question to experiment with. If the prop is too hard to turn wind speed is irrelevant. So ideally, I think we need to create maximum generator rpm at slow wind speeds. Playing with prop diameter and pitch may be very interesting.

I don't know the axle diameter of the gearboxes.

Thoughts?

A model windmill?
by: Matt

Hi Greg,

Can you explain in a bit more detail what you are trying to accomplish? What do you mean by model wind turbine?

Like a miniature version of windmills that produce electricity?

If so, some more info will be needed. How much torque do you need to turn motor/generator. How fast do you want it to turn. What is the wind speed, shaft size, etc.