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E26: 3D printed windmill
In E26, we designed and built a 3D printed wind turbine, then validated its aerodynamic and structural performance through testing.
Background
In my introduction to engineering design course, I helped build a 3D printed wind turbine with a focus on both efficiency and structural reliability. The rotor produced about 1.6 W peak power, and the tower handled loads up to 127.5 N. Blade shaping used first principles aerodynamics, including Bernoulli and Newton based reasoning. We also targeted predictable linear deflection behavior, around 4.44 N/mm, so the tower remained stiff and dependable.
Validation
We validated performance with wind tunnel runs and deflection measurements, then fed those results back into CAD iterations. My work covered solid modeling, fabrication, and test planning, which helped us converge on a design that met both aerodynamic and mechanical targets.