We wanted to defy all convention with our rendition of the project by using exotic materials and manufacturing practices (while still maintaining a reasonable price point) to achieve the absolute lightest tower and simultaneously the absolute stiffest tower.
By uniquely adding thin L-brackets to the ABS base to increase moment of inertia, 3D printing topology optimized geometry in acetal with post-process annealing, using a large diameter thin-walled carbon fiber tube as the tower, and conceptualizing unique load-bearing geometry at the head, we were able to achieve the lightest and stiffest wind turbine of any team that year.
Our team designed and optimized a hand-sculpted varying angle-of-attack wind turbine blade in QBlade, an open source wind turbine calculation software. Won 8th in power generation despite using the previously mentioned hand-sculpted airfoil.
