This last month has been a month of firsts.
At the end of October, I got my first abstract accepted for a conference. I wrote an abstract on the turbine selection method I've used to select my turbine, and submitted it to the World Renewable Energy Congress (WREC) Conference in May 2011 which will take place in Sweden. All this means that I actually have to write the paper I had envisaged when I wrote the abstract (argh, might be quite difficult!) and I will require a trip to Sweden in May next year to present it (yeay!).
I've spent most of the time since finishing my first year report designing my turbine test rig. I've ordered the first few components and these have been slowly starting to arrive. I'm particularly excited about the torque transducer, a little shaft inside a box that will measure the torque coming from my turbine. It uses strain gauges bonded to the shaft, and a wireless transmission of the torque valve back to the output. Can't believe how much of a geek I'm turning into...
HBM Torque Transducer
As some of the components designs have been fixed, I've also cut my first pieces out. The workshop in the university has acquired a 2D laser cutter, able to cut some plastics and wood. The designs from CAD can be directly loaded onto it, meaning a short lead time between designing and actually holding the finished component. This has been quite exciting for me again, I've been able to draw something on my computer, then a few minutes later I can hold it in my hand. I've now built my first assembly in the rig.
First assembly for the rig
The other side to the turbine rig is the way to control the head, and allow it to vary between the required values. As the turbine testing will be carried out in the university's Hydro Lab, it must be able to fit in there. We've been looking at the many different options to use and control the flow available from the header tanks in the lab. It's not something I had immediately thought of, how will I control the head? I mean, the aim of the test is to test the turbine, so that's what I've been focussing on, but there are many other parts behind the main headline test that need to be thought of and designed to ensure the testing is relevant, accurate and repeatable. This is my first foray into experimental research, and I'm learning a lot.
All in all, the PhD seems to be progressing OK. There are a few frustrations I'm hitting up against. As in all universities, the workshop are overworked, so any custom pieces I need them to make may have a long lead time. I also have to give myself a bit of a kick up the backside. I've got a lot of different parts to this project, the turbine experiment, turbine modelling, grid control development, literature, papers etc. and I need to keep on top of all of them. At the moment, I feel as if I'm letting some of them fall by the wayside to allow for the things that excite me the most currently - most particularly the turbine rig. I need to also keep myself in check, make sure that I don't make rushed decisions on things.
During the last week of October I was Deputy Stage Manager (DSM) for my first show, Bad Girls - The Musical. A DSM controls the show, giving the go for the start, all the lighting, sound and other cues. The first few runs through the show were very stressful, trying to make sure that everything happened. But as the week went on, all the technical team got used to the play and we really clicked. They were all fantastic, especially as for most of them it was the first time they had had a technical role. The play was reviewed by the Bristol Evening Post, the review can be found here. Overall, I think the play went amazingly well, I'm looking forward to the next one now.
And the next show isn't too far away. The final first is that I'm producing a talent show at church, with lots of help obviously (thanks in anticipation Howard, Vera, Cherry, and all the performers!). So Saturday night will be an evening of interesting talents, very much looking forward to it!
SAM
