How to Design a Wind Generator Pivot
Wind generators require pivots to allow horizontal rotation around the vertical tower axis where they are mounted on the tower. This pivot ensures that they can move to point into the wind. The wind generator is mounted at one end of a base or tube with a tail and a fin at the other end. The wind catches the tail fin and swings the wind generator around so that the fin is pointing away from the wind and the generator blades are pointing into the wind. The assembly must be balanced where it will be supported by the tower and must be able to swing freely around the support. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Design the Pivot
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1
Determine the center of gravity of the wind generator assembly to be mounted at the top of the tower. The major components affecting the center of gravity are the wind turbine, the power generator and the tail with the fin. If the wind generator assembly is already built, the center of gravity can be determined by balancing the assembly on one of the pipes. If not, it will be difficult to calculate the center of gravity accurately, so assume that it will be under the power generator. For the design of the pivot this will be close enough, but the exact center of gravity must be determined before installation so that the wind generator can swing freely.
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2
Decide on how to attach the pipe floor mount to the wind generator assembly. If the assembly is on a platform, bolt the pipe floor mount to the bottom of the platform. If the wind generator assembly is in a tube where the center of gravity is estimated to be, attach the tube to a flat base by means of pipe straps or similar fasteners and then attach the floor pipe mount to the bottom of the flat base.
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3
Determine the sizes needed for the pipes. Use two sizes of pipe that fit snugly, one inside the other. For smaller wind generators, they can both be PVC pipes. For slightly larger units, the smaller pipe can be PVC while the larger pipe should be galvanized conduit. For more strength, both pipes should be galvanized conduit. For example, a 1.5-inch PVC pipe fits neatly into 2-inch conduit and a 1-inch conduit fits neatly into a 1.25-inch conduit. The larger pipe will either form the tower holding up the wind generator or a 1-foot piece of the larger pipe will have to be attached to the top of the tower. The smaller pipe will be about 10 inches long and fit into the larger pipe to form the pivot.
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4
Finalize the design. It will show the smaller pipe screwed into the pipe floor fitting on the bottom of the wind generator assembly, located at the center of gravity. The larger pipe will form the tower or be located at the top of the tower. The washers will be located on the smaller pipe. The smaller pipe will be inserted into the larger pipe, which will force the washers up against the pipe floor mount where they can assist in smooth rotation. The pivot is now complete.
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References
- Photo Credit windrad image by Falk from Fotolia.com
