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Helicopter rotor blades to build wind turbine? I have 4 rotor blades from a Bell helicopter.

Static friction to overcome from a standstill?
Helical gear reduction being run in reverse?

A magnetic load and bearings, no gears, could have less start-up drag. Except for "cogging" with permanent magnets, so powered rotor coil might have less drag (brushes would be drag, and magnetic remanence would be drag if not degaussed)

Big turbines are rotated into the wind by motors, and spun up by motors rather than by wind.
Hey I like the way you think! These transmissions work great under huge loads. Really They are from cotton pickers that could weigh 50000 pounds picking Cotton is muddy fields. Forward Reverse holding back power on stepp downhill roads. dont know if the are helical. I’ll check I out. With the size of my rotor I just don’t see a problem getting it moving. Lots of wing area and I can pitch for optimum. I want to see it turn in the lightest wind even if the generator is out of the gear train. I’ll have to do much reading on those permanent magnet generators alternators.
 
Nice idea...Is there an option of cutting the blade length down. Blades can be statically balanced instead of dynamically. Meaning that once you get everything up and gravity pulls on the heavy side and then lighten that one up or add weight to the others... With using your own the time you can do it as needed till you get it right. Also balancing each blade is only part of it...if one blade in not angularly set right that will cause an imbalance. Guessing helicopters are balanced as an assembly?

Ozark? how is your headache, has your buzz worn off yet.

Good luck on your project....guessing getting the tower height down will help cost. Wonder what the toppling force will be at the blade surface area in a 70 mph wind.
 
Ozark? how is your headache, has your buzz worn off yet.
Never did have so much of a buzz I didn't consider the elements of your followup statement before you made it when I suggested he bone up on dynamic balancing and axial vibration monitors.
I've already moved on from that to considering where stress cracks might begin to first appear on his tower as he considers a fixed position nacelle. He's really gonna have a stiffy going with stiff blades, fixed nacelle and a tower built from what...drill stem? I cut my teeth in the wind parks just north of Palm Springs in '84 when climbing towers was a hoot and my balance was a sure thing. I saw a ton of destruction as the tax laws began to change in the early 80s and the rush to install wind turbines was gaining popularity with small time investors looking for a tax break. I watched 3 of the towers I worked on self destruct in just 1 weekend due to them not being able to keep up with changing wind currents. In that case they lost their blades. It won't take much change in wind direction to take out his stiffy. Bearings will be a big problem too long term but probably won't show up before overall RUD takes place.
Up the hill from the wind park where our turbines were placed was the (largest in the country at the time) egg-beater style Darrieus that they finally figured harmonics had a lot to do with the cracks that formed in its vertical shaft. One of my cohorts at the time had hands on that one. I'm guessing he's gonna experience some of that too.
Unfortunately economy of scale along with tax credits is what makes wind feasible.

I do look forward to action photos though and still think it would make a great art display at Burning Man! ;)
 
Here’s a question for everyone. How often does the wind shift around the compass Compared to N W S W N. Course diff locations would vary. Here in Oklahoma it only blows hard N and S. All other direction are light. I’m thinking of sensing wind direction and turning the head electromechanically and limiting it to 350 degrees or so travel. I’m planning on a hydraulic monopole for a tower and I could stabilize the turbine for raise and lowering. Hey! Here’s a thought. What if I don’t let it rotate at all. Just N and S. i rotate the blades 180 when the wind shifts and ignore the light stuff from diff directions.
In Wyoming the only time wind is predictable is as the front passes or a storm blows. Folks do not leave car doors open for any length of time.

Dang, I was trying to figure out what kind of empennage would look good behind the blades. The RV's is too small, maybe a C-195 tail would look good and give you some control.

I don't think you will be able to stop it from full rotation unless you get Ozark consulting on the job. :LOL:

Time to invest in a recording anemometer and a 90 foot pole to mount it on. That should give you some good data to aid in design considerations.
 
Dang, I was trying to figure out what kind of empennage would look good behind the blades. The RV's is too small, maybe a C-195 tail would look good and give you some control.
I'd just steal one off an unsuspecting grackle. They're plentiful in Oklahoma. You ever notice how they use their tail like a rudder?
I don't think you will be able to stop it from full rotation unless you get Ozark consulting on the job. :LOL:
I ain't cheap but I can be had. Especially on new age sculptures.
;)
 
Wind power is a cubic function of wind speed so every component involved needs to be designed to deal with that, most importantly the overspeed prevention system. 2x's the wind speed is 8x's the power.

So in practice a wind turbine that produces 100w at 10mph will produce 800w at 20mph. Double that to 40 mph and then double it one more time to get 80 mph. All at once you've got a machine that is capable of producing a little over 51,000 watts. It won't happen often but all it takes is one time. Failure to design for that is what gets a lot of small turbines. Most sites will see gusts approaching that at least once every 5 years if not more often.
 
So my grackle tail feathers was a good idea?

"I'd just steal one off an unsuspecting grackle. They're plentiful in Oklahoma. You ever notice how they use their tail like a rudder?"
? Ahh, Feathering a blade. Not at all like whacking a bird.

In feathering, the blades on an aircraft or wind turbine are turned so that the leading edges are pointed in the direction of flight. For the purposes of a wind generator the blades would be pointed into the wind, tornadoes are the exception to everything.
When a blade is in the "feathered" position, the aerodynamic forces result in a low drag condition and allow for zero rotations of the blades.

Feathering a wind turbine blade could be considered: a method of achieving free braking.
Feathering could be considered: an extreme pitch change from a normal power producing position.
Feathering could not be considered: tickling your girlfriend in the dark.

In case you forgot over the years. :ROFLMAO:
 
I've been distracted lately with the cg detectors on my Dyson Cow Burp Sucker plc ladder logic.
When you start your own thread on the Burp Sucker, will it be here: diysolarforum.com/forums/humor.49/
OR in a new forum here: diysolarforum.com/categories/other-renewable-energy-sources.43/ ?
 
When you start your own thread on the Burp Sucker, will it be here: diysolarforum.com/forums/humor.49/
OR in a new forum here: diysolarforum.com/categories/other-renewable-energy-sources.43/ ?
https://diysolarforum.com/categories/other-renewable-energy-sources.43/ seems like it would fit best right now at least until I get it miniaturized and battery operated for operation on the run, then it might fit better here... https://diysolarforum.com/forums/favorite-tool-show-and-tell.35/ :)
 
Great fun! So much to consider. Ive started a few fires cutting and baling hay. The worst worry. Wow! Beautiful way to start out March in Oklahoma today. Close to 80 and please give me more!
 
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