TERRA NOVA – Wind + Solar Energy – Premium Kit (part number: TN005)
The Kit Includes:
Main board
2 circuit diagrams (series and parallel connection)
3 solar modules 0,5V, 420mA
Potentiometer module
Diode module
Resistance module
Buzzer module
Illumination Module
Wind machine module
Profile rail for wind machine
Wind turbine module
2-, 3- and 4-blade wind rotor
Savonius rotor module
Fourier Systems Ltd. 16 Hamelacha St., POB 11681, Rosh Ha‘ayin 48091, Tel: +972-3-901-4849, Fax: +972-3-901-4999 www.FourierEdu.com
EXPERIENCE SCIENCE!
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Power supply for the illumination module and the wind machine (including key for adjusting voltage)
Concept
This kit deals with the physical basics as well as the practical applications of the two most important renewable energy sources: photovoltaics and wind power. Photovoltaics (PV) is the direct conversion of light into electrical energy using solar cells. Wind power means the conversion of kinetic energy of wind into electrically energy using wind turbines. Working with this kit students can on the one hand learn what a solar cell is, how it works and how it is used to produce electric energy in practice and on the other hand learn to know different wind turbine types and how they can produce electric energy. All experiments are based on Fourier-Education probeware products so that all experimental data is collected by the computer and also evaluated with the computer.
The kit consists of a main board where up to three experiment modules can be plugged-on. With the main board parallel and series connection are possible and sensors for measuring current or voltage can be connected via standard connectors. There are 3 solar modules included in the kit that can be used for fundamental photovoltaics experiments like illumination density dependence, temperature dependence or area dependence. By connecting them to each other also experiments with real solar modules consisting of more than one single solar cell can be realized. The following figure shows how to realize series and parallel connections of solar cells.
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The illumination module can be placed directly on top of a solar module and by connecting it to the power supply the solar module can be illuminated with a well defined intensity of illumination. The voltage can be adjusted on the back side of the power supply with the appropriate key. With the diode module the very important concept of so called bypass diodes for solar modules can be demonstrated. The main modules for wind experiments are the wind turbine with three different attachable rotors (2, 3 and 4-blade rotor) and the wind machine that produces wind with a speed of up to 7m/s. With the help of the profile rail the distance between wind machine and wind turbine can be adjusted. The wind machine is operated by the power supply. The following picture shows the basic set-up that will be used for almost every wind experiment. The wind turbine module consists of two parts: the module plate that can be plugged onto the main board and the turbine itself with the generator. The generator can electrically be connected to the module plate by its cables. The setup can be mounted in the following order (see the above picture for reference): 1. Plug the wind turbine module onto the main board without the generator part (Important: do not plug the module onto the main board in wrong direction – see the picture for reference!) 2. Fix the rail to the wind turbine module 3. Mount the wind turbine on top of the rail and connect the small cables to the module 4. Fix the wind machine to the rail The potentiometer module is used for measuring the IV-characteristics of solar cells and modules as well the wind turbine. The buzzer module is a visualisation module that can be used for easy introductory experiments.
Needed sensors
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The sensors are not included in the kit. Most of the experiments can be done with the following sensors. The pictures in the instruction are based on the USB-Link and MultiLab-Software but of course all experiments can also be conducted using NOVA or MultiLog.
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Current (DT006 (recommended), with DT005 experiments are possible with lower accuracy)
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Voltage (DT002, DT002, DT003 or DT019)
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Temperature (DT027, DT029 or DT025)
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Anemometer (AC012)
List of Experiments:
Part I: Solar energy
1. Dependence of power on the area of the solar cell 2. Dependence of power on angle of incidence 3. Series and parallel connection of solar cells (qualitative) 4. Series and parallel connection of solar cells 5. Dependence of power on illumination 6. IV-characteristics of a solar cell 7. IV-characteristics with varying illumination intensity 8. IV-characteristics of a solar module 9. Partly shaded solar modules 10. IV-characteristics of partly shaded solar modules
Part II: Wind Energy
1. Introduction of wind energy
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2. Measuring the wind velocity 3. Dependence of the wind turbine power on wind velocity 4. Comparing different number of rotor blades and Savonius rotor 5. Dependence of the wind turbine power on angle of wind incidence 6. IV-characteristics of the wind turbine 7. IV-characteristics with different rotor blades 8. IV-characteristics depending on wind velocity 9. Start-up characteristics of different rotor blades and the Savonius rotor 10. Efficiency of the wind turbine
Concept of the experiments
Most of the experiments are designed for students from the age of 14. Of course you have to decide which experiment is applicable according to your curriculum and the previous knowledge of the students. In both parts the experiments 6 to 8 and 10 are recommended for students from 16 years because more detailed previous knowledge and more experimental skills are necessary. In contrast, Wind Experiment 1 and Solar Experiment 3 can also be conducted by students from 12 years. These are qualitative introductory trials without using dataloggers. These experiments can also be recommended for older students as introduction to the topics wind and solar energy.
Solar Experiments 11 to 13 deal with the temperature dependence of solar cells. If you just want to give the students an overview of this topic, experiment 11 is sufficient. There, the temperature dependence of the voltage is observed that dominates the overall temperature dependence of the solar cell power. For Experiment 12 (temperature dependence of current) basic
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knowledge of semiconductor physics is required. In Experiment 13 the temperature dependence of the power is observed.
Definitions and Calibration
Part I: Solar Energy
In this section all used physical quantities and concepts will be explained. A … area In the experiment, often the term “active area” is used. This means the area of the solar cell that can contribute to power generation (e.g. that is not covered). I … current Isc … Short circuit current The current of the solar cell (or rather voltage source in general) when the load is 0. Can be measured by only connecting a current sensor to the solar cell. V … voltage Voc … open circuit voltage Voltage of the solar cell (or rather voltage source in general) when the load is infinite. Can be measured by only connecting a voltage sensor to the solar cell. P … power MPP … Maximum Power Point At this point of the IV-characteristics the solar cell can produce the maximal output power. IMPP… corresponding current value at MPP VMPP … corresponding voltage value at MPP All the characteristic values related to the IV-characteristics of a solarcell are depicted in the following figure:
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FF ‌ fill factor The fill factor is defined as FF=Uoc*Isc / UMPP*IMPP. It is the percentage of the area corresponding to the power at the MPP (double hatched area in the figure below) in the total area resulting from the product of short circuit current and open circuit voltage (complete hatched area).
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Part II: Wind Energy
With the equipment of this kit the wind speed can only be varied indirectly by changing the distance between wind machine and wind generator. To correlate distance and wind speed the following calibration curve can be used. Just read the wind speed value from the graph for a certain distance value which was used in the experiment. The different curves are given for different voltages at the wind machine.
For calculating the efficiency of the wind turbine the density of the air is needed. This density depends on the temperature. Read the density value for the temperature you measured in the room the experiment was conducted in.
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