The goal of this experiment was to replicate the ideal resulting motion of the drivers from a 1 m/s flow speed and test how the prototyped induction systems compared to the theoretical calculations. In this ideal scenario, the magnets connected to the drivers would be oscillating through the coils 4 times per second with an amplitude of about 2 inches. The team aimed to replicate this scenario by connecting a magnet to one of the rods and manually bobbing the magnet through the coil 4 times per second. A metronome recording was used to maintain the right bobbing frequency and the team utilized an oscilloscope to both measure and visualize the voltage induced by the system. To carry out the experiment, coaxial cables were attached to each end of a coil and one of the team members proceeded to oscillate the magnet through the coil for a period of 30 seconds at the desired frequency and amplitude (See Fig. 4). Another teammate monitored and recorded measurements from the oscilloscope to find the average voltage value over the entire time period. This process was carried out for each induction system prototype and the results of each experiment were compared to the theoretical as well as to each other. It was hypothesized prior to testing that neither prototype would meet the 6.4 W output calculated in the technical analysis. This was assumed because the calculations neglected non-idealities in the construction of the system as well as in the environment. Another test hypothesis was that the induction system wired in series would perform better than the system wired in parallel due to a greater amount of resistance in the singular strand of wire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Figure 4: Alpha Prototype Test Setup

 

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The first prototype tested was the induction system wired in series. As can be seen in the oscilloscope graph below (See Fig. 5), a voltage was induced as expected in an oscillatory manner. 

 

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Figure 5: Series Induction System Voltage Output

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By visual inspection of the graph, there were small irregularities in the voltage reading. This was likely caused by the manual testing approach but is not a large concern since the values were fairly steady over the 30 second period. The voltage measurements taken over the 30 second period averaged to be around 2.8V. With this experimental value and the resistance of the system, the power of the prototype was calculated to be 0.2 W, which is about 3% of the theoretical value.  Next, the prototype wired in parallel was tested. As can be seen in the oscilloscope graph below (See Fig. 6), the induced voltage from this prototype was much lower than the previous. 

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Figure 6: Parallel Induction System Voltage Output

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The voltage measurements taken over the entire 30 second period averaged to be around 0.27V. With this experimental value and the resistance of the system, the power of the prototype was calculated to be 0.15 W, which is about 2.4% of the theoretical value. Due to the first induction system being wired in series, it has a higher resistance value and yields a greater voltage than the parallel wired system. While this result narrowed down the design direction for the future, there is still a concern with the discrepancy between the actual and theoretical power values in both data sets. Although these values are very low with respect to the theoretical, this was to be expected. The theoretical calculations neglected the possibility that heat from the environment or generated by the coil could affect the performance of the system. Additionally, the theoretical calculations neglect how irregularities in the coil windings can cause magnetic field cancellation to some degree. Any cancellation of the magnetic field in the coil would cause a drop in the induced voltage and therefore lower the power output. For this reason, the team aims to construct and test a redesigned induction system in the next phase to avoid magnetic field cancellation and improve upon the power output.