This week, the team completed Lab 2, which concerned the external sensors and propellers. Lab 2a was an essential part of designing the AEV. The team became familiar with with the external sensor hardware components and learned how to troubleshoot code related to the sensor. The team also learned how to program function calls for use with the external sensors. Understanding how the sensors work and how they are utilized in the AEV is crucial because, without a full understanding of the sensors, the AEV cannot be used on the track. Lab 2a was also an important step in the design process.
The team became familiar with propulsion system efficiency and a wind tunnel testing procedure. Wind tunnel testing was necessary to determine which propellor was most efficient. If the team decides to design their rotor blades, wind tunnel provides useful baseline data to use for comparison with the new propeller designs. Lab 1 went very smoothly. All the equipment worked correctly, and errors in the code did not slow the team down. The only trouble that the team experienced during the lab was setting up the sensors. There were clear instructions in the lab manual, but the team still struggled with this step.
Takeaways
- The 0.3030 inch propellor blade is more efficient and should be used in the final design.
- The team will make sure that the sensors are connected to the arduino correctly so that the readings are reasonable.
- The team will try to keep the sensors clean and smooth. It was discovered that dirty sensors provide inaccurate data