If you apply your creativity, even waste material can turn fruitful. This statement has been rightly proved by some adventurous high school engineering students from Cape May Technical High School in New Jersey of the United States of America. Making use of the waste metal and salvaged scrap, the students have created wind turbines that can produce electricity. The scrap used in the turbines is basically from the fence and sign posts. The main shaft of the turbine was made from transformed post while the PVC pipe was made from the scrap available in the school. The turbines were installed in coastal Cape May Courthouse in New Jersey where wind moves at 23 miles per hour.
The wind turbines are not like the traditional turbines used by the government. They are vertical in axis. The best part of these eco friendly wind turbines is that they can generate 500W of power. The pin wheel of the wind turbines is around six feet diameter. It has a tail that steers into the wind. The scoops —both vertical and horizontal — have been made from five gallon buckets.
According to Schmidt, a physics teacher at the engineer school, the product is a remarkable victory and said that the turbines have been working well for quite some time. Elucidating the wind turbines made out of scrap, Carly Hemmingway, one of the students who created these turbines, has said that great things can be made out of the waste, which people think will be of no use. It is in fact a good move by these students. They, however, did not mention as to how much time they took to work on this project. Nonetheless, it would have took at least couple of months of hard work.
From a design standpoint, the most remarkable feature is that all the turbines work at some level, and they have been running problem free for a month outside in some severe weather conditions, added Schmidt. These students are quite enthusiastic about their work and exuded confidence that they would work on several such innovative projects in near future. Their next eco-friendly project is going to be generator made out of scrap. With the success of this project, these guys are now confident that anything can be made out of waste. Anyway, let’s hope that government recognizes this project and implements the same for a better and a cleaner environment.
Via: Inhabitat
