- Wind Turbine Team
Objectives
The goal of this years Wind Turbine Team is to research and develop a multi-composite wind turbine blade that will meet the requirements of manufacturing ease, reliability, fracture and fatigue toughness, and economics. The blade will use Bend Twist coupling to acheive a passively controlled vibrationally efficient blade. By the school years end we hope to have produced 3 full scale blades for use on the previously designed University of Utah’s Wind Turbine Testbed.
Team Members
Summary
The 2005–06 Wind Turbine Team is dedicated to the continuation of the full scale modular wind turbine test bed originally started two years ago. For this years team, turbine blade design and manufacturing will be the primary focus. Research into material selection will be focused on, with the use of mixed composites utilizing carbon fiber, E-glass, and other composite materials that will add to the blades overall efficiency. Blade configuration will be another area of research where we will experiment with different airfoils, blade thicknesses, and the use of bend-twist coupling as a passive control system. Following initial design considerations, many smaller blades will be manufactured and tested in the Universities Wind Tunnels so as to gain insight as to the effects that each material/configuration has to offer. Once completed, and depending on our Fundraising status, we would like to lay up and manufacture 3 full scale blades for use on the existing Wind Turbine Test bed.