1. Project 14361: Engineering Applications Lab

2. TEAM MEMBERS Jennifer LeoneIndustrial Engineer – Team Lead Larry HoffmanElectrical Engineer Angel HerreraElectrical Engineer Henry AlmironMechanical Engineer Saleh ZeidanMechanical Engineer Dirk ThurMechanical Engineer

3. Project Description Current State Students in the Mechanical Engineering department currently take a sequence of experimental courses, one of which is MECE – 301 Engineering Applications Lab. Desired State 2-3 modules used to provide a set of advanced investigative scenarios that will be simulated by theoretical and/or computational methods. Project Goals Create modules to instruct engineering students Expose students to unfamiliar engineering ideas Constraints Stay within budget

4. Customer Needs and Requirements

5. Module Requirements

6. Railgun Background An energy conversion system that uses electrical energy and converts it into mechanical energy to launch a projectile. Consists of parallel pair of conducting rails with an armature connecting them to complete the circuit and launch the projectile. Magnitude of the force vector determined by calculating the strength of the magnetic field through the Biot-Savart Law, and then finding the Lorentz force to determine the resultant force vector.

7. Railgun Design Concept

8. Railgun Build Process

9. Railgun Module Design

10. Railgun Module Video

11. Railgun Module Testing

12. Railgun Student Experience 1) Student sets up system by plugging in variac into wall outlet. Followed by using the custom made power cord to connect the variac to the railgun module. 2) Student adjust knob on variac to desired input before turning on the variac. Student also checks to make sure that the charging circuit switch is set to on position and the bleeding circuit switch is on the off position. Student also moves the fan switch to the on position. 3) Student hits on switch on the variac to begin charging the capacitor bank. 4) During charge up student checks on voltage value in capacitor bank displayed on a voltmeter attached to the capacitor bank. 5) Once charge up is completed student moves charging circuit switch to off position and turns off variac as well. 6)The student then uses the pushing stick to propel the object into the rails and see the car accelerate due to the magnetic fields produced. 6b) If the student for whatever reason desires to release the stored energy in the capacitor back without passing the object through the rails he/she must move the bleeding circuit switch to the on position. Student then waits for a bit and watches the voltmeter to see when the capacitor bank is depleted to safe levels. 7) If the student launches the object then with the help of a camera the students would derive the speed of the object while before and after passing through the rails. After the speeds have been calculated the student will compare the actual results with the theoretical results to determine how much energy from the capacitors was transferred into the object. 8) If the student wished to perform additional launches steps 1 through 6 will be repeated.

13. Capacitor Bank Charge Up Times Input Voltage to Capacitor Bank (Volts) 2.04V4.07V6.11V8.15V10.19V Charge Times (Sec) 3.54sec8.03sec12.21sec17.27sec22.32sec 4.09sec6.79sec11.53sec17.33sec22.65sec 3.53sec7.05sec11.63sec16.61sec22.73sec 3.82sec7.50sec12.12sec16.93sec22.41sec 3.90sec7.08sec11.93sec16.74sec22.67sec 4.36sec6.70sec11.80sec17.08sec22.70sec Average Time (Sec) 3.87sec7.19sec11.87sec16.99sec22.58sec

14. Input Voltage to Capacitor Bank (Volts) 2.04V4.07V6.11V8.15V10.19V Discharge Times (Sec) 20.94sec27.09sec32.59sec37.25sec41.61sec 18.22sec27.38sec33.05sec36.94sec41.47sec 18.83sec27.10sec32.66sec38.02sec41.72sec 17.77sec27.76sec32.37sec38.14sec41.54sec 18.26sec26.58sec32.70sec38.39sec41.58sec 18.73sec26.65sec33.04sec38.28sec42.52sec Average Time (Sec) 18.79sec27.09sec32.74sec37.84sec41.74sec Capacitor Bank Discharge Times

16. Problem # Identifying & Selecting Problem PSP 1 Analyzing Problem PSP 2 Generating Potential Solutions PSP 3 Selecting & Planning Solution PSP 4 Implementing Solution PSP 5 Evaluating Solution PSP 6 R1R2R3Y4Y5G6 1 No car design tested has been able to clear rails Have multiple designs and prototypes but none seem to complete track way cars were designed Push team to complete more car designs, come up with a series of parameters to determine the root cause of what materials, shapes and sizes will work best in rails Parameters will be tested in order to determine the best projectile or car for the railgun Parameters will be tested between Weeks 17-19 TBD- Will be shown at customer demo in Jan 2015 2 Debugging car does not move through rails as expected Car is experiencing too much friction and has too much mass to it. Design new concepts for a smaller and lighter car to launch. Run series of tests to determine what variables will make the car go the farthest and launch as the team had envisioned Parameters will be tested between Weeks 17-19 TBD- Will be shown at customer demo in Jan 2015 3 Rail dimensions and spacing have an impact on the velocity and acceleration of the car Based on the tests conducted by the team, there is a correlation between longer contact length with the rails and the rail orientation Alter the current design to match what test made the car move the fastest and farthest -Keep the same layout as originally designed and live with current velocity and acceleration Alter the current design to match the test that made the car have the highest velocity and acceleration Added magnets to the design, magnets will be placed on top of the car; rails will be shortened in length. The magnet will be the part of the car to roll over the rails - design to be completed during weeks 17-19 TBD- Will be shown at customer demo in Jan 2015 4 With the current projectile, rod must be placed on ramp In order to start projectile motion, need to be inside the enclosure to let go of the projectile Leave as is, come up with new ramp design outside of enclosure, use a different kind of projectile Parameters will be tested in order to determine the best projectile or car for the railgun- from there it will be determined where to place the ramp Parameters will be tested between Weeks 17-19 TBD- Will be shown at customer demo in Jan 2015 5 The rails and the rod used to bridge them degrade after each use due to spot welding The current system setup requires the rail-to-car connectors to roll across the top of the rails, which requires tight tolerances between the height of the rails and the rail-to-car connector. -Return to car rolling parallel to the rods. -Abandon Car. -Some method of forcing rod onto rails that won't ruin both The team has decided to set aside the car and use a rolling projectile instead. -A new ramp and track to be designed for the projectile were created TBD- Will be shown at customer demo in Jan 2015 PROBLEM TRACKING LIST AS OF 12/3/2015

17. The Next Steps: Completing Railgun Module Make a reliable tool to guarantee a consistent initial velocity and release angle Conduct tests to produce quantifiable data about the effects of the parameters listed below: System VariableDescriptionTesting Method Projectile shape Changing shape of the projectile- change the shape of its magnetic field and the way it interacts with the rails. Proposed shapes include a rod, a sphere, and a dumbbell Make projectiles of different shapes, shoot them down the track, and record their times. Strength of magnets Stronger the magnets used, the stronger the resultant magnetic field, which should correlate to a greater electromagnetic force Vary the number of magnets on the projectile, shoot them down the track, and record their time. Rail Geometry Changing the geometry of the rails will change their resistivity, as well as effect the shape of their magnetic fields Make rails of different geometries, shoot a projectile down them, and record their times.

18. Thrust Module Concept Using a combination of motor, speed controller and load cell the thrust created by a propeller can be tested and quantitatively compared to theoretical models. Thrust is due to the momentum change in the fluid ( in this case air) when interacted upon by the propeller, which results in a force in the opposite direction to the flow of air.

19. Thrust Module Concept

20. Thrust Module

21. Thrust Module Video

22. Thrust Module Student Experience  Walk into lab  Insert and tighten propeller  Close module door and connect batteries  Turn on computer and connect load cell and DAQ Devise controlling the speed controller  Run Lab view code to cycle motor and record data  Safely turn system down, Save Data, Disconnect batteries, and remove propeller

23. Thrust Module Test Data

25. Thrust Problem Tracking List as of 12/3/2015 Proble m # Identifying & Selecting Problem PSP 1 Analyzing Problem PSP 2 Generating Potential Solutions PSP 3 Selecting & Planning Solution PSP 4 Implementing Solution PSP 5 Evaluating Solution PSP 6 R1R2R3Y4Y5G6 1 Speed Controller died after testing One parameter that was not controlled during this test was the rate at which I was changing the PWM; is it possible that too rapid a change can cause relatively high instantaneous currents? Replace Speed Controller. Prepare one page technical summary of prop size vs. required current vs. speed controller options. Have a team summary (prop size vs. speed controller) New Requisition form signed and new speed controller will arrive by the end of week 13 to be tested OUTLOOK: Module will function the way it was designed TBD - snow storm delayed speed controller shipment; In house on 12/2/2015 and will be tested for week 15 2 Current propellers sized too large for module Potentially one of the reasons why the speed controller died; Consulted with other engineers and hobby shop to confirm this was a problem for the module -Replace current props with smaller size to fit the scale of the design -Resize the module to fit larger propellers Called company to exchange propellers on December 2nd. Can be tested once parts are in house OUTLOOK: Propellers will fit module and function the way it was designed to TBD once the new props comes in by the end of week 18

26. The Next Steps- How to Complete Thrust Module  Use Labview to:  Run the motor through a preset cycle  Record thrust data (forces, loads, etc.) while controlling the motor  Install a new ESC and run module using a variety of props  Compare to theoretical calculations of propeller diameter and pitch vs thrust.

27. Lessons Learned  Thoroughly review the budget prior to buying anything  Always double check your positive and negative terminals when connecting to a battery.  Always know where the nearest fire extinguisher is.  Document all changes made and data collected throughout the project process.  How to work together as a team

28. The MSD Team would like to thank Professor Wellin, Professor Slack, Professor Venkataraman, Vanessa Mitchell, Tyler Burns, Robert Kraynik, and Jan Maneti for all their support, advice, and time for the duration of this project. Finally, the team would like to thank Professor Hanzlik for all his guidance, advice and support to complete our deliverables. You gave us the strength to believe in ourselves and gave us life lessons that we will never forget. Acknowledgements