Question:
Our property has just got to rely on subterrainian water for
all purposes and instead of using our usual method of pumping the
water by a generator and fuel we just put in a windmill about 30 feet
high and the situation where it is located is in a valley between
two miniture mountains and our property is covered rather densely
with trees like bushland and the windmill seems to get confused with
all the turbulant wind that is produced and cannot get a consistant
motion even in 30 knot winds, my question is this- how can I maximise
the wind force to the pump with the most efficient stream of wind.
Any sugestions would be appreciated, sincierly yours Mark Perrins.
Replies:
Mark,
If you made the windmill like an anemometer (cups on a wheel mounted
horizontally) it would be less dependent on wind direction.
Greg
Hello,
I do not have any practical experience with windmills. But I would think
that situations like the one you described are not uncommon. Perhaps you
can talk with the windmill manufacturer. Maybe there are designs that
swirl to adapt to preferable directions of the wind, if the direction does
not change rapidly. You may also consider whether the windmill can be
moved to a more favorable location, or whether the area surrounding it can
be rearranged.
You may want to buy or borrow an instrument to chart the wind direction at
the windmill site over a period of time to determine the wind pattern
before undertaking any major changes.
Just out of curiosity, did the manufacturer provide any instruction, and
did you investigate the site before installing the windmill?
Good luck,
AK
Dr. Ali Khounsary
Advanced Photon Source
Argonne National Laboratory
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.
