MESA USA hosted by Colorado
Colorado MESA and MESA USA presents its national engineering design competition specifications for the 2009-2010 year. The Wind Energy Challenge event involves the transfer of energy from the wind source to the defined tasks. The maximum amount of energy available to complete the tasks will be limited to that provided by the defined commercial fan and the task time constraints. High school and middle school teams selected to participate at the national event will compete in the four components below: Read the Q&A section to answer common questions and updates on the design challenge.
Performance
Performance – Teams will research, design, build, test and compete with a windmill device designed to capture and use the available wind energy to complete the tasks. The performance of the devices will be judged in the following tasks:
- Mechanical Power: greatest mass raised 75 cm in the least amount of time.
- Wind to Vehicle Transfer: greatest average speed achieved by the defined vehicle through the track distance.
- Electrical Power & Wind Direction Response: greatest average power output from the defined generator/electrical load during a 60 degree change in wind direction.
Middle school teams will compete in tasks a) and b). High school teams will compete in all three tasks.
Technical Paper – Teams will submit a 5-15 page technical paper that details the design, development, experimentation and understanding of their device.
Academic Display – Teams will present the findings of the above-described research in display format. The display should include items such as data (e.g., charts and graphs), photographs, drawings, other ideas, and necessary written explanations.
Oral Presentation – Teams will make an oral presentation based on investigation, experimentation, design, testing, and experiences related to their device. This presentation will be delivered to a panel of judges. After the presentation, teams will be asked questions by the judges.
Each team competing at the state and national level must consist of 2-4 students who are active members of a MESA center program in a MESA USA state. Individual states should encourage their respective teams to participate in all performance components at the statewide level. Individual states will determine the dates and location of their respective events.
The first place middle and high school teams from State events will travel to the national competition. These teams must compete in all tasks listed above. This event is scheduled to occur June 24-27, 2010 hosted by Colorado MESA.2009-2010 MESA USA Windmill Guidelines-Rev 1
Frequently asked Wind Energy Q&A
Additional Resources
Videos created by our friends at Washing State University (2 more to come)| Overview | Mechanical Power |
Excel Scoring Sheets
- Wind Energy Challenge High School Scoring sheet
- Wind Energy Challenge Middle School Scoring sheet