Engineering Help

[laurenkim97]

Hi,
I am currently doing a project testing different turbine designs on the production of electricity through wave power. I contacted a mentor and I am meeting with him on August 25th. However, he told me to work on some designs for my generator through an online program called SolidWorks, unfortunately I have no idea how to use the program. Anyone ever use the program? Or have suggestions for an alternative program thats easier to use? (and preferably free) I'd like to show my mentor that I am prepared and motivated so I would like to get this accomplished before our meeting.

Thank you.

[rmarz]

laurenkim97 - SolidWorks is a very powerful 3D CAD system that allows everything from 2D/3D design, FEA analysis and even simulation capability. Having said that, if you have had no experience in 3D CAD usage, it will be a difficult task to master in a short period of time. In addition, even if you become proficient in designing turbine structures, you will have to create a simulation environment to exercise the designs to determine how they operate relative to your design goals. I would think this is a bit aggressive for an 11th grade student. Is this related to a school science project? Does your mentor understand the scope of what you were trying to accomplish with this project and the way you were going to approach the problem? Sorry to be asking more questions than giving you direction, but perhaps you can tell us more about your level of experience with this topic and perhaps usage of CAD and simulation tools. You can go to the SolidWorks web pages and view some of their products and see demos of their simulation applications.

www.solidworks.com

Rick Marz

[lkim97]

Hi Rick,
This is for a science fair project. I made it to state science fair last year by creating a project on the effects of salinization on the production of electricity through wave power. This year I want to expand on that topic and create my own generator. I received a research stipend from a regional research training program as well this year.
I have an idea in mind about how I want my generator to look like, but unfortunately my experience in CAD and simulation tools is extremely limited (close to none). However, I am willing to learn new things and am probably going to start with some hand drawn 2D designs.
I watched the demo of the SolidWorks program and it looks like an amazing resource. (but seems very complicated to use) I saw a video tutorial and saw the great amount of things you can do on the program and thought it would be useful if I knew how to use it.
Is there any other way to approach my project then from this standpoint? I would really appreciate any advice.

Lauren

[lkim97]

Hi Rick,
Tried to reply earlier but my response wouldn't post.
I am doing this project for science fair. Possibly aimed towards high levels of competition if I can finish my project in time. Last year, I also did a project on wave power, testing levels of salinization and their effects on the production of electricity.
I have limited experience with CAD/simulation software (close to none), but I am willing to learn. Are there any other ways to conduct this project besides this simulation method? Essentially my due date is in late February. I looked at several Solidworks online videos and the tools would be extremely useful if I knew how to use them.
I am emailing my mentor today with these concerns as well.
Also, are any of these programs: Autocad, CATIA, Solidworks, FEM, Rastor, MATLAB related to what I could do?

Thanks! I would appreciate any advice.
Lauren

[amyC]

[Posted on behalf of another Ask an Expert expert, Terik]

Hi lkim97,

Autocad, CATIA, and Solidworks are all CAD programs. FEM usually refers to the finite element method for numerically solving differential equations. MATLAB is a technical computing package with its own programming language. All of these could be relevant to your project, depending on what you are doing and how you are approaching the problem.

I'm not familiar with a program named Rastor. Are you referring instead to raster graphics?

It was a good idea to email your mentor to let him or her know that you aren't familiar with these software programs. You can often find tutorials or getting started guides online, which walk you step-by-step through how to do various tasks in the software. If you want to work on learning one of these software packages, that would be a good way to start.

Terik

[lkim97]

Hi,
Thanks for your response.
I have a question about general engineering science projects.
Do most students construct what they are testing and test what they've made? Or do some students use simulation software?
Also, could you explain how turbines convert the mechanical energy into electricity?

Lauren

[deleted-2131]

Hi Lauren,

When I've judged engineering projects at science fairs, most of the projects that I see involve people constructing and then testing their design. However, I have seen a few projects that used simulation software only because of the complexity of their projects. It just wasn't feasible for them to actually build their design. As long as the students have gone through the full engineering design process (which is nicely explained here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... uide.shtml), I treat the projects equally.

As for turbines: turbines don't directly convert mechanical energy into electricity. Turbines drive generators; the generators are what make electricity. This article from How Stuff Works does a nice job of explaining how wind turbines work:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/enviro ... -power.htm

Although that article is specifically about wind turbines, the general principles also work for turbines used in other electricity generation methods.