Betz Law

Albert Betz, a German physicist, published a book in 1919 where he concluded that only 16/27 of the winds energy (approximately 59.3%) can be used (in ideal conditions) by a wind turbine.  Ideal conditions do not actually exist, but we can imagine them in theory:  no friction; mass-less turbine blades; no eddies.  In these ideal conditions it seems like 100% efficiency could be achieved, but Albert Betz was smart enough to recognize that if we were to harness all of the winds power, the wind would not leave the blade and would therefore be in the way of the rest of the wind.

In fact Betz experimented and proved mathematically, under the previously mentioned ideal conditions, the best case scenario happens when approximately 2/3 of the winds power is extracted and 1/3 of it is not (allowing the air to move out of the way of the rest of the wind).  In this way Betz calculated a theoretical maximum power extraction for wind turbines.

When a wind turbine company reports that their turbine is 60% efficient, then, they mean that it is 60% of the 59.3% (Betz limit), or really only 35.6% efficient.  Because of mechanical losses, such as friction from bearings, noise and heat, the most efficient turbines available today produce about 80% of 59.3%, or you could say they are just over 47% efficient.

I participated in the Nelson Wind Turbine Project at Iron Range Engineering this fall and it was imperative to get an understanding of the Betz limit and how the wind turbine industry compares their efficiency.  The project provided excellent practice at applying engineering principles such as Impulse and Momentum, The Conservation of Mass, and The Conservation of Energy to a real world project.  It would take an hour to tell you everything that I learned during this project, but I hope I have clarified any misconceptions that you may have had about how Betz’s Law is applicable to wind turbine efficiency.

Written by Jim McCluskey    

Proofread by Charlie Schuh 

Enjoying Time as an Iron Range Engineering Student

Bailey Lake- a few blocks away from IRE

If you are an outdoor lover, one of the many benefits of being a student at Iron Range Engineering is having the outdoors in your front yard.  There is something for everyone when it comes to outdoor activities.  Get a healthy dose of fresh air by taking a relaxing walk, jog, or bike ride around Bailey Lake, Silver Lake, and Olcott Park; as you can see, all three are just a few blocks away from IRE.

Spend a weekend camping, fishing, and hiking in peaceful solitude at the Whiteface Reservoir located just 37 miles southeast of Virginia.     

Bailey Lake

In the winter, grab your skis or snowshoes and hit the hundreds of kilometers of trails and explore the wonderful wilderness of northeastern Minnesota.  

In late spring to early autumn, head west to Hill Annex State Park near Calumet and hunt for fossils while you tour the old mine. 

Load up your fat tire or mountain bike and head north to hammer out the Big Aspen Trial. 

There is so much to do if you are looking for a little adventure!  A short get-away is a great way to get exercise and recharge your batteries.  

Other outdoor options include: golfing, fishing, ice fishing, hiking, off-roading, biking, rock-picking, boating, kayaking, camping, down-hill skiing,  cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hunting, sight-seeing, birding, swimming, diving, snowmobiling and more. 

Here is an incomplete list of more options for enjoying the outdoors:

·         The Mesabi Trail http://www.mesabitrail.com/

·         Giant’s Ridge http://www.giantsridge.com/

·         The Virginia Golf Course www.virginiamngolf.com

·         Gilbert’s Off-Highway Vehicle park http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ohv/trail_detail.html?id=13/

·         Camping http://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/superior/recreation

·         Diving http://www.sdtn.com/dive_resources/travel_articles/minnesotas-mines-unexpected-treasury-dive-sites#.Uop3zeKJSvk

·         Laurentian Divide http://www.ironrange.org/things-to-do/laurentian-divide-recreation-area

·         Snowmobiling http://www.snowmobiletrail.com/us/mn/city/Virginia

Mineview-in-the-sky http://www.irontrail.org/attractions/mining/mineview-in-the-sky/

Written by Brandy Maki
Proofread by Kate Olafson

Chemistry 2 at IRE

This semester, approximately 18 students from IRE are completing a Chemistry 2 course offered from ICC. The course is taught by ICC instructor Gordy Savela every Wednesday evening from 6:00-9:00p.m. and is modeled similarly to a typical IRE competency. Each week, a different group of students presents and teaches the class real world applications of core chemistry 2 principles and then a lab is conducted that applies to the topics covered. For example, the Auto Tech. group taught the chemistry in your car's battery, along with how the deployment of the airbag is a complex chemical reaction.

In my opinion, this course is valuable because it applies the core topics of a typical Chem 2 class to real-world examples. It helps me to better understand these topics and carry them with me into my future career. Below are a few picture of students conducting a lab experiment, and Gordy talking with students about a topic covered.

By: Justin Magnusen

Proofread By: Kody K.

 

There's no magic bullet

There’s no magic bullet. The magic bullet is the marketing strategy for appealing to the desire for one easy solution.

Many of us try to look for that one thing to make us successful…  When we meet and try to learn from high-performing people, it is easy to try to figure out the one thing they did:

• What is one thing you would do differently if you were getting your first job again?
• What is one thing I can do to be more productive?
• If I can do [verb], then I will be great in [worthwhile endeavor].

In reality, high-performers do not do just one thing. They spend years sculpting and refining a collection of habits that work for them. They also spend a lot of time learning from mistakes: their own and others. It takes a lot of hard work and a lot mistakes. It’s simple to say, hard to do.

By embracing the opportunities at IRE, students are able to make and improve from many mistakes that most graduates make at their first job. The result is a group of college graduates that have the habits of someone who has already started their career. These students are able to bring much more value to their companies. IRE students are constantly improving in many different habits and skills, including:

• Managing projects and tasks
• Successfully sharing responsibility and resolving conflicts in a team
• Acquiring new technical knowledge and skills in a short amount of time
• Making ethical decisions everyday
• Practicing effective written, spoken, and graphical communication
• Designing engineering systems
• Etc.

As I complete my final semester at IRE, I can confidently say that I feel well prepared to start my profession as an engineer. IRE provided an environment where I had the freedom to make and grow from countless mistakes. As a result, I was able to build a strong foundation of habits that will continue to expand along side my career.

There’s no magic bullet. I have known this simple truth for a long time, but it took many more years to fully accept it. I finally stopped looking.

Proofread by: W. Tycer

Written by: E. Diep

On Friday, November 1st Iron Range Engineering welcomed guest speakers Christine Nelson, Nick Lefebvre, John Baxter, and Tina Erickson from Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. The students watched a video profiling the company, including its history, current projects, and plans for future expansion. Following the video Christine, Nick, John, and Tina informed students about the various career opportunities with Cliffs, including their internship programs. They talked about the endless possibilities of working at different mines that make up Cliffs Natural Resources around the world. They also discussed Cliffs’ core values, training and development, benefits, and talent management program. Nick, the former operations manager of IRE, told students about what it is like to work at Hibbing Taconite while Christine, an IRE Gen 1 graduate, told students about her experience working at United Taconite. At the end of the presentation students were able to have questions answered by the guest speakers. After all the questions were answered, students were able to turn in resumes to both Hibbing Taconite and United Taconite for possible internships and full time positions.

Matt Carlson

Proof read by Mike Carlson

Tour of Hibbing Taconite Facility

On Friday November 8th, eleven members of the Iron Range Engineering chapter of SME attended a tour of Hibbing Taconite’s mining facility.  The tour was guided by Carissa Butterfield and Nick Lefebvre, the former a graduate and the latter a one-time employee of Iron Range Engineering.

The tour started out with a safety video to teach the students how to be safe in the mine and what hazards could be encountered during the visit. After completing the video the students started the tour in the crusher. At the crusher building, a spare mantle was having maintenance work performed on it which allowed the group to see the size of the crusher mantle. Next the group walked up to the crusher control room  and watched while haul trucks brought in material for the crusher to grind. To see the how the crushing system worked and the size of the system, the group descended six stories below the ground. At each level we were informed about what was happening to the material and what each component was on the system.

After understanding the crusher, the group headed out to the mine pit to see the equipment at work moving the material.  Hibbing Taconite uses 240 ton haul trucks to move the material from the current location in the mine to the crusher. The group watched how the haul trucks are loaded and also a drill that was laying out the pattern for the mine’s next blast. On the way back to the concentrator, the group stopped at a parked haul truck to get an idea of how large a haul truck is and how high off the ground the operator sits.

To continue with the tour, the group was shown where the material goes after the crusher. Inside of the concentrator we saw the mine material being fed into the large autogenous mills where it impacts itself to be crushed into a smaller size. Then the group was shown the process of how the material is separated, dried, and rolled into green balls. After that the last step was to see the indurating furnace where the green balls were fired into taconite pellets.

The SME members found it very interesting to see the entire mining process up close and to be able to ask questions to the two employees at Hibbing Taconite who gave the tour.

Mike Carlson
Proofread by Michael Lynch

Faculty Support

This semester I have the opportunity to work full-time as a co-op, while attending school full-time. I will be working at Medtronic until the end of December. I spend one day a week on the IRE Campus and four days a week at the Medtronic Facility.

If I make it through the semester, I think it will prove to be one of my greatest accomplishments to date. I am very fortunate that I have this opportunity and I know that I owe it to the faculty and staff that have been so wonderful in their support and their efforts to work with me. This semester shows everyone (friends, family, employers, and industry) that IRE really does as it promises, and gives each and every student the support and opportunities that he or she wants or needs.  If there is one thing I would like to convey to the readers of this blog is it that EVERY student here is given as many opportunities as possible to succeed .  It really is “The Best Way to Learn.” 

Kali O'Brien 

Proofread by Kylie Harer