Abstract
This capstone project addresses a dual challenge at the intersection of mechanical engineering and energy systems, improving high performance vehicle drivetrain technology while contributing to the broader transition toward renewable energy infrastructure, as the technical problem involves designing a compact, efficient, and reliable gearbox capable of integrating with an in wheel motor system for a Formula SAE electric racecar, where traditional drivetrain systems limit performance, packaging efficiency, and the ability to implement advanced control strategies such as torque vectoring, while on the systems level the broader problem is the difficulty of scaling renewable energy technologies, particularly floating offshore wind, due to both engineering and sociotechnical barriers. To address the technical problem, this project develops a one stage compound planetary gearbox integrated into the wheel upright, optimizing gear ratio, weight, manufacturability, and durability while fitting within strict spatial constraints, and through iterative analysis, including gear parameter optimization, material selection, and finite element analysis, the final system achieves a gear ratio of approximately 10.95:1 while maintaining acceptable safety factors for yield and fatigue, while in parallel the STS component analyzes floating offshore wind systems as a complementary large scale energy solution, focusing on how engineering innovation alone is insufficient to ensure adoption. Considering human and social dimensions is critical because engineering systems do not exist in isolation, and both drivetrain technologies and renewable energy infrastructure interact with regulatory frameworks, economic incentives, and user needs, as in the case of offshore wind, projects affect coastal communities, labor markets, environmental systems, and public perception, while similarly even a high performance gearbox must align with team resources, manufacturability constraints, and long term usability within the Virginia Motorsports program, and ignoring these human factors can result in technically sound designs that fail in real world implementation.
This project draws primarily on Science and Technology Studies theory, particularly the concept of co-production, which explains how technological systems and social structures evolve together rather than independently, and in the context of floating offshore wind, regulatory institutions, infrastructure readiness, and public acceptance shape what is considered technically and economically feasible, while additional STS frameworks, such as sociotechnical systems theory and elements of Actor Network Theory, further highlight how both human and non-human actors contribute to technological outcomes. The STS research methodology is based on qualitative comparative analysis, including examining government reports, policy documents, and technical studies from sources such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and international case studies from the United Kingdom and Japan, where these documents are analyzed not as neutral data but as representations of how risk, cost, and feasibility are constructed within specific institutional contexts. The findings indicate that technological feasibility alone does not determine successful implementation, as in the United Kingdom centralized governance and financial mechanisms have enabled rapid offshore wind deployment, while in contrast the United States faces slower adoption due to fragmented regulatory systems, infrastructure limitations, and public opposition, and Japan demonstrates how institutional misalignment can hinder progress even when geographic conditions are favorable, showing that deployment outcomes are shaped by the interaction of engineering capability, governance structures, and societal acceptance. When considered together, the technical and STS components demonstrate that effective engineering design must account for both performance and context, as the gearbox project illustrates how optimization under constraints leads to a functional and competitive mechanical system, while the STS research expands this perspective by showing that large scale technologies like floating offshore wind require alignment between engineering innovation and institutional support, and the key implication is that successful technological advancement depends on integrating technical excellence with social, political, and economic considerations, an integrated approach that is essential for both improving competitive engineering systems and enabling broader transitions to sustainable energy.
