Wind Turbine Blade

Objective: Create a wind turbine that is efficient and has the lightest possible tower base weight. Problem: The blade profile produced only 22.9% energy conversion efficiency. Solution: Each group could only print one blade so we couldn't iterate on profiles, but a wider blade chord would produce more lift and improve efficiency. The blade has a curved profile to maximize air contact and lift. Final efficiency: 22.9%. The tower came in at only 100g — extremely light compared to the rest of the class — but with a corresponding low stiffness, so it flexes a lot. The tower is a network of popsicle sticks connected via slits and mortise-style joints rather than glue, which gives much more support per gram.