Lab 6 – 8 Advanced R&D

Lab 6&7 – Effects of Motor Quantity

One our our main questions was whether two or one motor was more efficient, an important consideration if we want to make the most efficient AEV possible.

The following figures show the results for the advanced R&D tests of the various motor quantity and direction configurations. These tests were preformed with the code found under One_Motor_Test, Two_Motor_Test, One_Motor_Pull_Test, and Two_Motor_Pull_Test under the Code section:

Power vs. Distance for Four Tests of One Motor Pushing
Power vs. Distance for Four Tests of Two Motors Pushing

Lab 8 – Effects of Pushing and Pulling

Our secondary question was whether pushing and pulling was better, or more energy efficient. This can depend on design, although if using the same design, this should not matter when strictly comparing energies.

Power vs. Distance for Two Tests of One Motor Pulling
Power vs. Distance for Two Tests of Two Motors Pulling

The Following table is a summary of our data gathered.

Push-1 Push-2 Pull-1 Pull-2
Average Energy (J) 16.823 30.9494 15.036 28.4505
Distance Powered (m) 0.42596 0.78506 0.24145 0.7801
Joules per Meter 39.94189 39.50836 62.27746 36.47032
Standard Deviation Energy (J) 0.181086 0.691785 0.492146 0.009192
Distance Powered (m) 0.047639 0.035655 0.008697 0
Joules per Meter 5.014475 2.496614 0.205038 0.011784

 

Based on our data, we will most likely going forward with a design that uses two motors to pull the AEV as that was the most energy efficient and consistent.