![]() The blades powered the motor, used in reverse as a generator to produce voltage. “Then we sanded and shaped the blades to a traditional design for an air foil wind turbine, improving efficiency and aerodynamics,” said Darling. Thanks to a Sustainable Energy Engineering Course, Darling and Walton knew how to use MATLAB programming to model performance of blades shapes. ![]() Much research went into designing the blades, cut from PVC pipe. “Engineering is basically dealing with problems as they arise and knowing how to find solutions,” said the Grosse Pointe, Mich., resident who specialized in mechanical engineering.įollow the team’s steps to build your own “personal-use” backyard wind power. It took the team a full year of trial, error and innovation to make their enhanced prototype, but tackling challenges comes with the territory of being an engineer, according to John Walton ’22. ![]() “Based on our engineering knowledge, we knew there were better ways to make improvements, so we took what we were learning in class to build a better design,” said Hannah Darling ’22, a Lakeville, Mass., resident who specialized in environmental engineering. A senior engineering team’s capstone project improved upon an open-source wind turbine design that could put wind-energy generation in the hands of the average homeowner. If you have a treadmill, a bicycle and some PVC pipe, you have a mini wind turbine in the making. ![]() Class of 2022 Engineering graduates (from left to right) John Walton, Daniella Giannotti, Jake Stamos, Hannah Darling, Christopher Michaud, and Jacqueline Collins tested and improved upon a wind turbine design as their senior capstone project. ![]()
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