MILESTONE 1 (STAGE 0) – PRE-PROJECT RESEARCH

MEMO
Team Number: Tues -27
This is an individual deliverable and should be submitted by each team member prior to Design Studio
3.
→ Complete your pre-project research memo on the following page

At the beginning of Design Studio 3, we will be asking that you copy-and-paste the
Pre-Project Research Memo below into Milestone One Team Worksheets. It does
seem redundant, but there are valid reasons for this:
• Each team member needs to submit their Pre-Project Research Memo with the
Milestone One Individual Worksheets document so that it can be graded
• Compiling your individual work into this Milestone One Team Worksheets
document allows you to readily access your team member’s work
o This will be especially helpful when completing Stage 1 of the milestone

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Please list Team Member that is submitting the memo.

Full Name: MacID:

Kyle McMaster Mcmask2

Summary of wind turbine blade technology and potential design considerations.

Each individual research memo should be no more than one page, excluding
references.
The demand for wind power has soared as the cost of fossil fuels continues to
rise as well as the public’s awareness of the environment. Currently, there are two
main wind turbine designs. The traditional style has a large set of propeller-like blades
attached to a tall tower. The blades must be raised on a tower to ensure the wind is
not obstructed. The other style is a vertical turbine which resembles an eggbeater. In
both cases, the wind spins the turbine which then turns a generator. The power is
either delivered to customers or stored in a battery. In order to generate power, the
generator must rotate at 1800 - 3600 RPM. This is far faster than the 200 - 400 RPM
the blades spin at. The input rotation is geared up to the appropriate speed [1].
Though most wind turbines use three blades, some designs have been proposed with
two instead. The removal of one blade could result in significant economic savings,
making the implementation of a wind farm more appealing for governments [2].
Some of the drawbacks of wind turbines include inconsistent winds and an
unappealing aesthetic. The wind must be blowing fast enough to be harnessed by the
wind turbine. The wind turbine must also be facing the correct direction to harness the
wind. An effective wind turbine would have a mechanism to rotate the blades to face
the wind and a battery for consistent power delivery. Wind farms have also received
backlash from residents towards municipalities looking to develop them as they can
ruin the landscape. Offshore wind farms are especially guilty of this [1].
A good wind turbine has to be able to resist the strain applied to it by the wind.
It must be able to turn the energy collected from the wind into rotational energy
efficiently. Some areas of the design to consider are the length and shape of the
blade, the material used for the blade, the height of the tower, and the number of
blades used. If the blade is not strong enough, it can bend and collide with the tower.
If the blade is too heavy, it will be hard to rotate the turbine and less power will be
generated. Taller towers are more expensive to build, but often there is better wind
higher in the air. In general, more blades can harness the wind better than fewer, but
each additional blade adds to the cost. [3]

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References (adhere to IEEE notation)
***references do not count toward word count / page limit

[1] D. Chamberland, Wind power. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science, 2019.

[2] J. Cotrell, The Mechanical Design, Analysis, and Testing of a Two-Bladed Wind
Turbine Hub. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2002.

[3] J.M.K.C. Donev et al. “Wind power,” Energy Education [Online]. Available:
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Wind_power. (2020) [Accessed: September
27, 2020].

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MILESTONE 1 (STAGE 1) – INITIAL PROBLEM STATEMENT

Please complete this worksheet in your corresponding team document.

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MILESTONE 1 (STAGE 2) – PRELIMINARY OBJECTIVE TREE
Team Number: Tues - 27

This is an individual deliverable each team member will complete during Design Studio
3.
→ Review the 4 different engineering scenarios outlined in the Project 1 module
→ The Project Manager will assign each team member one scenario
→ Complete a preliminary objective tree for your assigned scenario on the following
page

Name: Kyle McMaster MacID: mcmask2

Engineering Scenario #: #3
The Roof Generator

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MILESTONE 1 (STAGE 3) – REFINED OBJECTIVE TREE

Please complete this worksheet in your corresponding team document.

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