Water Turbine School Science Experiment

thingiverse

This hydroelectric power generator is an ideal project for a school science fair, offering numerous possibilities to explore and experiment with. The following independent variables can be adjusted in an experiment: * Gear ratio - Four different gears are included for the generator and turbine, allowing for varied combinations to test. * Load resistance - A range of resistors from 1 Ohm to 1 kOhm can be used to drive a load. * Water flow rate * Water height * Turbine design - Designing your own unique turbine is also an option. We utilized this design for my daughter's 7th grade science fair project, which remixed the turbine designed by Victor Barahona at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:202905 and the parametric gears by Droftarts at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16627. The experiment drove a 3W RGB LED in series with a 3.3 Ohm resistor, resulting in extremely bright illumination.