Findings
Based on the experiments that we did in our time limit, we initially found out putting propeller on the back to make the AEV go forward is travel further than reversed setup in the same time. Travel more distance means we can use less energy to go an exact distance and more efficiency. That’s all we can conclude in the time being, we will do more runs to find out the best results.
Research
As a team we decided that the propeller configuration advanced R&D lab would be a great testing opportunity for the AEV. We began our research by looking back at the Wind Turbine lab the team did back in Engineering 1181. This set the precedent of what we expected to happen versus what really happened in the lab. In this way the team knew if our findings from the lab made sense or whether something went wrong during the lab. Another research opportunity the team took on was specifically researching propellers. Although the team did the Wind Turbine Lab last semester, the team wanted a deeper understanding of propellers. The team used the research from an article How do Propellers Work (Woodford, 2017). This helped the team further our understanding of propellers to better understand the findings from our lab. From what conducted, the conclusion can be made that forward propeller configuration provides the best result in term of speed, distance travel and power consumption.
Codes
1. Run all motors at speed 0% then reverse
motorSpeed(4,0);
reverse(4);
2. Accelerate all motors from 0% to 70% in 2 seconds
celerate(4,0,70,2);
3. Run all motors at a constant speed of 70% power to go to relative position of 100 marks.
motorSpeed(4,70);
goToRelativePosition(100);
4. Brake all motors
brake(4);
Marketable
After doing this lab, and incorporating the research into the design of the AEV this makes the AEV more marketable. This makes the AEV more marketable by making the AEV more energy efficient as well as making it safer and more reliable. The best setup also provides guideline for any other similar devices
Citations
Woodford, C. (2017, July 17). How does a propeller work? Retrieved from http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-propellers-work.html