Mass of AEV: 266 grams
Code used to analyze energy output:
motorSpeed(4,30);
goFor(4);
motorSpeed(4,0);
goFor(10);
Start mark: 61 inches
End mark: 120 inches.
Net horizontal force: .034 N
A plot of Speed (m/s) vs. Time (s)
A plot of Distance (m) vs. Time (s)
Potential errors made and how they were resolved
While conducting the energy analysis lab, the arduino board started to smoke during the first attempt to run the code used to analyze the energy output. This occurred after the reflectence sensor test so the students had thought that the arduino was safe to run the coding for the energy analysis and failed to see a hanging wire. Once the AEV started to run, the students immediately saw the smoke and quickly turned the arduino off and consulted the GTA. After further inspection, the GTA concluded that the smoking of the AEV was due to a loose wire that had unattached from the arduino board that the students had failed to secure back into the proper place. The students then replaced the old arduino board with a new one, made sure all the wires were attached properly, and advanced with the energy analysis lab.
Recommendation on how to make the lab better/where the team needed more guidence
The team needed more guidance on how to make the plots for the energy analysis. Since the plots were made from distance vs time and time vs speed instead of the provided distance vs power and time vs power plots. The team recommends that the instructions for lab be made a little more clear and in-depth making it easier to follow because outside of the classroom ,when there is no time for questions, it makes it very difficult to follow and assumptions on how to move forward are made.
Deliverables
Progress Report Questions
1.
Describe the performance of the AEV wheel count sensors during the run on the
straight track. What was the Marks Error? What did the team do to reduce this
error?
The AEV wheel count sensors worked properly on the first run on the straight track. There was however a one mark error in our run. The team measured the starting point of the AEV run at 61 inches and it ended at 120 inches equaling 122 marks and the marks recorded by the reflectance sensors was 123 marks. In order to fix this error to even more precise measurement we believe that the reason that our reflectance sensor was 1 mark off was due to the AEV leaning extremely to the left impacting our reflectance sensor measurement. To combat this error we moved the AEV slightly to the right to counterbalance this weight, although this didn’t completely fix the issue of the lean it did severely help.
2.
A plot of Speed (m/s) vs. Time (s)
A plot of Distance (m) vs. Time (s)
3.
Present the calculated forces (propeller, friction, and net) for the run on the
straight track. What is the significance of each? What do these values say about
the team’s AEV design?
The AEV generated a net force of .034 N with a propeller force of .1574 N and a friction force of .1234 N. The meaning of these calculated forces is that the net force is positive resulting in positive movement. The values are not as satisfactory as we expected but this is due to the lean of the AEV because it is causing the left motor to not output as much power causing an unbalanced power of the AEV pushing the motor and aiding in the friction force due to the aerodynamics of the AEV only creating lift on one side of the vehicle.
4.
Compare the performance of the
team’s AEV to the other AEVs in the class
average. How does the team’s AEV rank compared to others in the class? What
can be done to improve the AEV’s performance?
The team’s AEV moved at slower speeds and moved less distance than the other AEV’s in the class average. The team’s AEV rank is in the middle of the others in the class. To improve the AEV’s performance the lean of the AEV needs to be fixed. That is the cause of all the other problems with our AEV like connecting to the caboose, generating power, and braking.