1st Generator Prototype

The key component in our project is the generator. This forms the basis of generating the required power to aid an existing charging system in charging a vehicles battery. At this point, we have constructed a prototype generator to simulate current and voltage generation.

Prototype generator components include:   
 

1.   0.25mm (d) of enamel copper wire

2.   40mm (d) x 10mm (h) Neodymium magnet

3.   50mm (inner d) x 80mm (h) pvc tube

4.   Single phase 1.0A bridge rectifier

Initially, the coil was wound 300 turns (N) and each end connected to the bridge rectifier. The rectifier output terminals (-) and (+)  are connected by copper wire which are to be later used as testing probes.

On 31 November 2011, the first generator bench test was conducted. A computer oscilloscope was used to capture the peak output voltage created by the generator. It was found that the induced magnetic field generates small voltage. A peak voltage reading of 0.962V was taken at an oscillation frequency of approximately ±1Hz,and a maximum voltage of 1.169 V at ±1.5Hz oscillation . It was also noted that with the current setup, the generator was hardly able to charge the energy accumulator (3900μF capacitor).

Chart-1: Peak Voltage= 0.962 V @ 1Hz

Chart-2: Peak Voltage=1.169 V @ 1.5Hz

The test results from the first prototype proved that the frequency of the permanent magnet oscillation which cuts the magnetic fields is a big contributing factor in generating peak voltages. Simultaneously, it shows that the generator does not generate enough amperage to charge the capacitor. Hence, it is necessary to improve the design of the prototype.

We concluded that the current and peak voltage generated are too small for the project objective. We need to amplify the generator output, which requires an improvement of certain aspects of the generator design.