The Cori Team had the pleasure to design a custom Cori experience for the UCSD COSMOS program this past summer. We collaborated with Dr. Lelli Van Den Einde, teaching professor with the department of Structural Engineering at UC San Diego and her team. The program engaged high school students in structural engineering hands-on experiences and we supported lab projects that had students design/build a tensegrity table, balance scale, moment frames and much more.
The final project focused on designing a wind turbine tower that combined civil and aero structure concepts learned in the class. The 3 main goals of the wind turbine tower project were the following:
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Design the blades of a wind turbine that are aerodynamic and capable of producing as much energy as possible.
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Design the frame of the wind turbine structure to withstand a lateral load (seismic or wind) and maintain adequate stiffness.
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Create an “efficient” structure that utilizes the least amount of materials but still performs well during steps 1 and 2 above.
Each project was assessed using a performance index that assessed the tower, blade and aesthetic design. We were thoroughly impressed with the rigor of the math and structural engineering concepts, but most importantly the creativity and innovative designs using our Cori tools and materials. The future is bright! You can learn more about the Wind Turbine UCSD COSMOS program HERE.
