If I use various blade shapes, which are used in a wind turbine, to power a light bulb,the oval shape will produce the most energy, because I think the oval shape is  more aerodynamic it would have less air resistance so it would have less friction so it can spin easier to produce more energy.

what is energy -Energy has many forms, like Electrical, Heat and Light energy. There is also Mechanical and Chemical energy.

-Potential energy is energy that is stored or is about to be produced and kinetic energy is energy in motion or moving.

-Mechanical energy is potential and kinetic. Unlike other energy, mechanical energy can be both kinetic and potential.

Propeller Shapes and How They Affect Wind Power

-In 2012 there were changes made to turbine blades to improve wind power.

-Engineers had debates over wind turbine blades; some wanted to have small blades for more efficiency and some wanted to have bigger blades; there were even some debates on using fiberglass on wind turbine blades.

-In the 1990 wind power wasn't as popular as it is now but since then the cost for wind energy has gone down and it has gotten more popular.  

The Best Material for Wind Turbine Blades

- The best material for wind turbine blades is a mix of fiberglass\, carbon\, balsa wood or polyurethane foam. 

-The way to make fiberglass is with a glue called epoxy resins and three other materials called mat, cloth and polyester resin.

-I got this information from a tour with the  Wind Turbine Program at Lethbridge Polytechnic.

wind power

-In the last ten years Canada has produced more wind energy than any other type of energy.

-The wind turns the turbine, which makes energy, which transfers to the shaft. This causes the shaft to spin, which powers the generator and creates electricity.

-In Canada, we mostly use large propellers. These are put on land and send power directly to the electricity grid.

variables

procedure Step (1) Grab the wind turbine and base and put it on the table with triangle blade and put it on to the motor. 

Step (2) Turn on the multimeter and set the two wires on the light bulb and start recording.

Step (3) Use your iPad to set a timer for 40 seconds. 

Step (4) Turn on the leaf and point it at the wind turbine blades 3 meters away. 

Step (5) Then record the number on that the the milliamperes is showing. 

Step (6) Turn leaf blower and remove test blade and put the square shape blade on and repeat step 2-6 (6) more times.Step (7) Repeat step 2-6 but with the oval shape blade.  

Step (8) Repeat step 2-6 but with the rectangle shape blade.

Step(9) Repeat step 2-6 (6) more times with square shape blade.

Step(10) Repeat step 2-6 (6) more times with oval shape blade.

Step (11) Repeat step 2-6 (6) more times with rectangle shape blade.   Step (12) Repeat step 2-6 (6) more times with triangle  shape blade.

Quantitative Data One (units mA)

Quantitative Data Two (units mA)

Wind Speeds for Experiment Two

analysis The surface area of the propeller blades are 36cm2. The blade's weight was very similar, so the weight was probably not a factor in the results. Here the blade’s weights  are- the oval is 29g, the square is  27g, the triangle is 28g and the rectangle is 27g. If the blade weight varies that means it could affect the speed that the propeller blade turns. The average energy produced for this experiment for data set one is the oval at 0.05998mA, the square is 0.05998mA, the triangle was 0.03943mA and the rectangles average was 0.04723mA. The averages for experiment two were the oval is 48.4 mA the rectangle was 50.34 mA the triangle was 38.74mA and finally the square was 58.36 mA.

The electrical set up was different for data one and two. The setup for data one had wires connected to the light bulb screws and the multimeter probes held onto the screws. This may have limited the readings of the energy it was producing. Also If the multimeter probes are not touching every part of the screw then the multimeter is not picking up all that energy. Also the electrical current possibly wasn't as strong sending the energy into the screw and up to the multimeter wires. For data set two when the wires were directly on the multimeter the electrical currents would be stronger getting a higher reading on the multimeter. for data set two I attached the wires from the motor directly onto the multimeter probes. This likely impacted the accuracy of the multimeter.

The wind speeds throughout the trials were very consistent. I did not use an anemometer for data set one meaning I don't know if the wind speeds could have affected the results. The averages for data set two are oval is  12.82km/h the rectangle is 12.66km/h The triangle is 12.83km/h and the square average is 12.67km/h. We used a digital anemometer to record the wind speeds for every trial to test if the wind was affecting the blades energy being produced. This confirmed that the wind speed was consistent.

My data tells us that the different types of propeller blade does matter. The square blade produced the most energy in data set two but in data set one the oval blade produced the most energy. The only reason the oval average was higher was because it had one trail had a much high energy production driving the average up. That high energy production in the oval trial lead me to attaching the wires to the probes. If you limit the objects the energy travels through it will produce more energy.

conclusion My hypothesis was that the oval shaped propeller would produce the most energy was disproved. The square propeller produced the most milliamperes because it was the best blade from the first experiment to the last. The only reason the oval average was higher was because it had one big energy production. I believe the square blade produced the most energy because the square shape had the same length on each side. This matters because it would catch equal amounts of wind on each turn compared to the blades that didn't have the same length on each side. All the blades did have the same surface area so that was not a factor.

applications This information could help the world because this knowledge could help improve wind turbine efficiency and provide more power for housing and and electronic devices and machines.

This experiment can help reduce cost of wind energy because with the right shape it will take less power to to produce more energy. This could also mean  that we would need fewer wind turbines, which could mean that people won't need to spend money on wind turbines so the cost of wind energy will go down.

sources of error - The blades might of had a second more time of wind on them.

-The blade might have been bent after some trials when I was still using them.

-Varying wind speeds throughout the trail   -The weight was  different for each blade which would have played a factor in the experiment (oval was 29g, square was 27g, triangle was 28g, and rectangle was 27g).

-The epoxy stuck to the filament but not the plastic propeller hub

-The meters would turn off time to time during are trials

-On one of the trials the digital anemometer turned of so we could not record the wind speed

citations Bends, Twists, and Flat Edges Change the Game for Wind Energy (8-23-2023) https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/bends-twists-and-flat-edges-change-game-wind-energy        Energy the Canadian encyclopedia (2015-3-4)     https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/energy Energy Policy-Nature Canada (2025-01-14) https://natural-resources.canada.ca/domestic-international-markets/energy-policy Energy Britannica, types, example (1-26-2025)  https://www.britannica.com/science/energy Energy- Kids Britannica   https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/energy/353100#:~:text=Energy%20is,also%20makes%20living%20things%20grow Wind Energy Canadian Renewable Energy Association  https://renewablesassociation.ca/wind-energy/ Wind Energy-Natural Resources.Canada  (2024-12-23) https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-sources/renewable-energy/wind-energy 800+ diagram of wind energy stock illustrations, royalty-free Vector Graphics & Clip Art. iStock. (n.d.).https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/diagram-of-wind-energ

Mr Bykovskikh mentorship. Mr Blakney mentorship and allround helper.  Helping me with my experiment. Mr Barnick 3D printing and assistance.  Mr Bykovskikh for guidance and editing. Mrs Shaw for literacy and presentation.

My grandma Linda for arranging the Lethbridge Polytechnic meeting. Lethbridge Polytechnic for information about wind turbines and the facility tour. Online resources for research, and background information. 

An extra special thanks to my Mom and Dad for helping with everything from the start and the finish. Thank you guys so much.