Explain and apply the steps of the engineering design process.ĭefine a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.Ĭlick to view other curriculum aligned to this Performance Expectation.

Describe the concepts of lift and force.

In this activity, students work as if they are aeronautical engineers, designing, and redesigning wing prototypes.Īfter this activity, students should be able to: The tetrahedron also had the advantage of being a modular design the tetrahedral 'cell' shapes could be stacked and manipulated for more lift and repurposed into many different designs for flight. Kites proved to be a great testing ground for the design and construction of Bell's tetrahedron-based flying machines. Use of the tetrahedral shape resulted in large kite structures of minimal weight with enough lift to achieve flight, even with passengers and eventually powered flying machines.

To increase lift, which often came at the expense of added weight or lack of structure, he experimented with the tetrahedrons to create structures that were both strong and lightweight.

Alexander Graham Bell was one engineer and inventor who designed flying machines and found that generating lift was a problem.

$kite geometry$

To test early wing designs that used the tetrahedron shape, small and inexpensive kites were used. The aeronautical engineers of today continue to design new wing structures, now using computers and wind tunnels. Since the early days of flight, ideas for flying machines and their wing structures have been extensively tested. Copyright © 2015 Denise Jabusch, University of California Davis

Kite geometry