First AEV Design: 1/19/18-2/2/18
This is the first design the team made for the Preliminary R&D labs. This design uses two motors, with one attached to each wing that is at an 30° angle with respect to the base of the AEV. This design was created only to complete the Preliminary R&D labs, and was created before the team started brainstorming different design ideas.
Creative Design Thinking
During Preliminary R&D Exercise 3, each team member brainstormed AEV design ideas and then made sketches of them.
Kyle’s Design
This AEV design employs a the use of two extended sections to hold the motors, and to provide
stability to the width of the AEV, and has careful battery and arduino placement so that they balance
in the AEV’s depth. The design is relatively square, and is flat, so as to reduce drag.
Matt’s Design
The thinking behind this design is to have two motors in the back to increase efficiency and facilitate changing directions. Also, the simple design keeps the AEV light and cheap to produce.
Chris’s Design
This drawing encompasses modern day aircraft designs. In the back, the two motors drive equal thrust to the AEV. The narrow shaped body increases airflow and allows air to glide over without much resistance. This is also accomplished by the triangle front shape.
Alan’s Design
The design for the AEV has one large propeller in the back to reduce some of the weight of the vehicle, but still providing enough thrust to power it. The design is simple and flat to reduce drag and the wings that are parallel to the body of the vehicle are supposed to help reduce drag as well.
Result of Concept Screening and Scoring: 2/2/18-2/16/18
After Preliminary R&D Exercise 3, called “Creative Design Thinking”, Exercise 5, called “Concept Screening and Scoring” was used to evaluate the designs the team came up with based on different criteria that the team identified as important at the time. The concept screening and scoring charts can be found here. The team decided to use one motor with one large propeller to move the AEV efficiently.
Advanced R&D Labs Design: 2/16/18-3/9/18
This is the design that the team entered the Advanced R&D labs with. After running some tests with the large propeller, the team decided that abandon the idea. Since one of the topics the team chose for the Advanced R&D labs was motor configuration, the number and placement of the motors changed throughout the tests. The rest of the position of the components did not change. The team also decided to take some of the ball bearings out of the wheels. This change improved the efficiency of the AEV by decreasing the friction inside the wheel, which led the wheel to spin for longer on the track. When the original wheel and the wheel with the ball bearings taken out were both spun, the original wheel stopped in 2 seconds, while the new wheel stopped in 4.14 seconds.
Performance Tests 1-2: 3/9/18-4/5/18
During the first and second performance tests, the team used this design, which is similar to the design used for the Advanced R&D labs, except that the team decided that the propulsion system would have one motor that had two propellers attached to it.
Design Concept: CVT Transmission
In pursuit of improving the energy efficiency even more, the team tried to implement a design for motor configuration that was based on a CVT transmission, which has been a part of many new car designs to due its efficiency. As seen in the picture below, a rubber band was attatched to both the motor and one of the wheels of the AEV. After a few tests with this design, the team decided to abandon this design because the rubber band kept falling off of the AEV.
Final AEV Design: 4/5/18-Present
This is the final design that the team used to complete the final performance test. This AEV is powered by one motor with two propellers attached to it. The AEV also utilizes the servo motor that is used to brake the AEV.
