1.4.1 VEX Renewable Energy
TJ Manning, Jacob Wellnitz
12/5/15
12/5/15
Design Brief
Your team will design and create a renewable electrical energy generating and distribution system that utilizes wind, solar electric, and fuel cell energy conversion systems. Successful system design will demonstrate strategic power generation and distribution to meet the demand of both residential and industrial consumers. System design effectiveness will be based on the total number of successfully supplied industrial and residential consumers during a simulated 24 hour electrical energy demand cycle.
ResearchBefore we began construction of our renewable energy power grid, we had to do research of the wattage that would be required to run the LED's, and the amount of energy that we can get out of each energy system that we had available to us. This required us look up the voltage and current of the red and yellow LED's, and to test the current and voltage of the Solar Panel, Generator, and Hydrogen fuel cell.
Thanks to this research we realized that powering all our LED's would be a challenge in itself, especially with the energy requirement going over 20 volts Decision MatrixFinal DesignIn the end, we decided to go with a combination of the chain (generator) and the solar panel fuel cells in order to generate the most amount of electricity possible with the least amount of effort possible. With a series circuit to gain the most voltage throughout the system.
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ConstraintsAllowable electrical energy generation devices
(2) Solar cells (teacher-provided) (2) Fuel cells (teacher-provided) Turbine(s) (student-created) The turbine (e.g. wind, tidal, or geothermal) operation will be simulated using a VEX 393 motor. The turbine can be simulated by using any size gear or wheel in the VEX kit, and turned using your hand. No cranks or further mechanical advantage should be attained to prevent damage to the motor or other VEX parts. More speed can be created by transferring motion from a bigger gear connected to a smaller gear attached to the VEX motor System dimensions may not exceed 22 in. by 15 in. by 18 in. high. LEDs must be wired in two individual banks – one representing industrial demand and the other representing residential demand. LEDs within the banks must be wired in series and require a 330 Ω Brain StormingWe brainstormed a few ideas which were all different modifications of the same concept. The core ideas were to use both solar and wind power, connecting it to a series circuit, powering our LEDS
Modifications to designWe made lots of modification designs to our natural energy design.
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Reflection
Overall I believe that this assignment was very beneficial to my partner and I's understanding of the big step forward POE was in comparison to IED. This was our first major assignment of the year and I believe we passed with flying colors. We utilized the full extent of the design process following all the steps to the letter. The outcome of our design was in our favor and worked wonderfully. It was a great first project and definitely helped get our feet wet for what was to come in the future.