131:, Dean of Engineering at MIT, reacted favorably when shown these calculations in 1937. Bush introduced Putnam to a vice president of General Electric Company, Mr. T. Knight. From this point on Putnam was able to enlist the services of some very talented people which included Theodore von Karman, a world-famous authority on aerodynamics, to assist in the design, parametric studies, cost analyses, site selection, and determination of wind characteristics.
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viable by a factor of 1.5. Although the S. Morgan Smith company had spent more than US$ 1.25 million on the prototype turbine, entirely private funding, it concluded that there was insufficient prospect for profit on further development. Repairs were never done after the March 1945 failure. The prototype turbine was dismantled in 1946, leaving only concrete footings and a marker plaque at the site today. In the introduction to Putnam's book,
127:. General Electric provided a generator, and Central Vermont Public Services Corporation was interested in an energy supply that could displace purchased power for meeting peak loads. Only 23 months elapsed between first discussions and production of power. Palmer concluded that the most promising concept was a two-bladed propeller driving a synchronous AC generator. He developed a preliminary design and cost estimates. Dr.
20:
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The site chosen for the prototype turbine was a previously unnamed 2,000-foot (610 m) elevation, named "Grandpa's Knob"; this mountain was not so high as to have excessive ice build up, but had high wind speeds. Access to the site required construction of a road with 12 to 15% grade. Due to the
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The turbine had two blades, 175 feet (53 m) in diameter, on the down-wind side of a 120-foot (37 m)-foot steel lattice tower. Each blade was approximately 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and 66 feet (20 m) long, and weighed eight tons. The blades were built on steel spars and covered with a
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A study completed in 1945 suggested that a block of six turbines similar to the prototype, producing 9 MW, could be installed in
Vermont for around US$ 190 per kilowatt. However, the economic value to the power utility was only $ 125 per kilowatt, and the wind turbine was not considered economically
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of the turbine was thrown down by vibrations. He stopped the turbine. On investigation, it was found one turbine blade had broken off and fallen about 750 feet (230 m) away. The blade had failed at a previously repaired weak point in the spar; due to wartime shortages, it had been impractical
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No-load testing of the unit began in August 1941 to verify mechanical operation of the turbine and the blade control system. The generator was first synchronized to the local electrical grid on the evening of
October 19, 1941, and tested under load varying from zero to 700 kW. The unit operated
162:. Since the number of feasible sites for hydroelectric development was felt to be declining, the Smith company sought diversification into a new but related product line. The S. Morgan Smith Co. agreed to take on the project as general contractor and financed construction of a pilot turbine.
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for about 1000 hours between startup and
February 1943, when a shaft bearing failed. Due to wartime material priorities, the bearing was not replaced until March 3, 1945, when the unit achieved another three weeks of operation.
82:. The 1.25 MW turbine operated for 1100 hours before a blade failed at a known weak point, which had not been reinforced due to wartime material shortages. It would be the largest wind turbine ever built until 1979.
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carry out the aerodynamic design. Unfortunately, Rannie's analytical findings regarding the stability of the giant windmill were not incorporated in the prototype that was built and tested on the mountain.
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impending entry of the United States into World War II, some of the fundamental research and testing process was skipped so that major components could be made before wartime material shortages occurred.
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stainless steel skin. The blade spars were hinged at their root attachment to the hub, allowing them to assume a slight cone shape. The generator was a 1250 kva 600 RPM
339:
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for GRANDPAS KNOB WIND TURBINE horizontal control station (adjusted May 1998, accessed June 2013; search for PID OD1352 and check the box for "Include
Destroyed Marks").
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stated that the project achieved proof of the concept of synchronous generation of wind power, and projected future commercial use of wind-generated electricity.
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beam, which allowed the rotor to capture wind from varying directions. The pitch of the blades was controlled by hydraulic cylinders to maintain constant speed.
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99:, producing 2,400 V at 60 cycles. The actual generation of this generator would be something around 1MW, allowing for a
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W. Duncan Rannie – Memorial
Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 4 – The National Academies Press
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Reaping the wind : how mechanical wizards, visionaries, and profiteers helped shape our energy future
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Palmer Putnam became interested in production of electric power from wind after observing high winds at
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A Bold Effort in
Vermont: The 1941 Smith–Putnam Wind Turbine, C. Sulzberger, retrieved 2009 Nov 21
71:
24:
367:
Smith, Beauchamp E. (1973). "Smith–Putnam Wind
Turbine Experiment". In Savino, Joseph M. (ed.).
376:. National Science Foundation (U.S.)/ National Aeronautics and Space Administration. p. 6.
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A Brief
Summary of the Attempts to Develop Large Wind-Electric Generating Systems in the U.S.
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70:. In 1941 it was connected to the local electrical distribution system on Grandpa's Knob in
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and desired to improve on its performance. By 1937 he had enlisted
General Electric, and
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Wind energy conversion systems: workshop proceedings, Washington, D. C., June 11–13, 1973
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Guggenheim
Aeronautical Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology
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The History and State of the Art of Variable-Speed wind turbine Technology
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of York, Pennsylvania. The Smith Company manufactured hydroelectric
138:(GALCIT) was approached by Palmer C. Putnam, to design the turbine.
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In the early morning of March 26, 1945, the operator on duty in the
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18:
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Wind turbines: fundamentals, technologies, application, economics
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The world's first megawatt-size wind turbine on Grandpa's Knob,
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to complete a full repair and reinforcement of the blade root.
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of less than 1. The generator and rotor hub were mounted on a
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Putnam obtained the financial and technical backing of the
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in WIND ENERGY 2003 P.W.Carlin, A.S.Laxson and E.B.Muljadi
340:Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
477:. Norman, Okla: University of Oklahoma Press.
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327:
325:
300:. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. p. 45.
263:Jan 1981, page 24, available at Google Books
8:
504:Engineering and Technology History Wiki,
421:Savino, Joseph M. (August 29–30, 1974).
475:Wind energy in America : a history
222:
7:
428:(Report). Vol. NASA TM X-71605.
66:was the world's first megawatt-size
506:Palmer Putnam's 1.5 MW Wind Turbine
274:Solar energy: the awakening science
14:
16:First large American wind turbine
464:Putnam, Palmer Cosslett (1948).
500:magazine, retrieved 2009 Nov 21
520:Smith–Putnam Industrial Photos
125:Central Vermont Public Service
1:
261:Kiplinger's Personal Finance
276:Taylor & Francis, 1979
557:
468:. D. Van Nostrand Company.
119:. Putnam was aware of the
74:, US. It was designed by
64:Smith–Putnam wind turbine
473:Righter, Robert (1996).
230:National Geodetic Survey
121:Balaklava 100 kW turbine
78:and manufactured by the
508:, retrieved 2016 Jan 23
257:A Pioneer is Vindicated
175:Operation and failures
156:S. Morgan Smith Company
80:S. Morgan Smith Company
48:43.658222°N 73.106306°W
76:Palmer Cosslett Putnam
27:
541:Wind power in Vermont
294:Asmus, Peter (2001).
211:History of wind power
93:synchronous generator
53:43.658222; -73.106306
22:
493:Harnessing the Wind
466:Power From The Wind
140:Theodore von Kármán
44: /
496:, September 1941,
160:hydraulic turbines
144:William Rees Sears
72:Castleton, Vermont
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25:Castleton, Vermont
442:Birkhäuser, 2006
407:978-0-309-04349-6
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522:| Wind-Works.org
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148:W. Duncan Rannie
97:General Electric
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36:43°39′29.6″N
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438:Erich Hau,
86:Description
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39:73°6′22.7″W
530:Categories
352:2009-11-21
450:, page 36
335:"History"
233:datasheet
192:Aftermath
392:. 1991.
316:44794811
205:See also
117:Cape Cod
95:made by
185:nacelle
111:Origins
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342:(IEEE)
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105:pintle
426:(PDF)
374:(PDF)
217:Notes
498:TIME
479:ISBN
444:ISBN
402:ISBN
312:OCLC
302:ISBN
278:ISBN
259:in
146:and
142:had
62:The
394:doi
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