The winners of the statewide competition, kicked off by Gov. John Baldacci last Friday at the University of Maine, have been announced. A team from Sumner Memorial High School won the competition to build an efficient wind turbine blade from composite materials. Eighteen high schools from around Maine participated in the competition.
The Blade
The blade is especially designed for maximum wattage keeping in mind the overall lightness and aerodynamics.
The competition
The student teams were sent a kit of composite materials to design a prototype blade.
The teams were given specifications that the blades should be no longer than 18 inches and the turbines could be no greater than 42 inches in diameter. The teams also wrapped their blades with a fiberglass cloth and infused them with a resin that hardened the blades. The overall aim was to design a blade that would generate the most wattage.
Results
UMaine’s computer data acquisition system was used to measure each prototype for three minutes. The competition was scored on the basis of the total power produced in the three-minute time interval and the peak wattage recorded during testing.
The main aim behind the competition was to encourage young children to understand the composite industry better. They are the ones who will decide the success of the composite industry for the future of the state of Maine.
Via: Maine Wire