Next week, we will be testing our hull prototypes at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. The tow tank over there is approximately 300 feet long, which is more than enough for what we would like to do.
0 Comments
The first hull that we vacuum bagged finally cured (it just needed more time than we thought it would need initially). It came out nice and we are now preparing to vacuum bag the second hull. We have started making a mold for the seat as well and hope to bag that in the next few weeks.
So last night there was a big snowstorm, so the school cancelled all classes. To make use of the extra time, we worked from 2pm until 11pm trying to perfect the carbon fiber vacumm bagging process. It wasn't suppose to take that long, but this was our first time and our only guide was guy from England on youtube. We went through two vacuum bags, but neither of them held the vacuum, so we just left it overnight to cure. Today we checked the model and although it has cured, the carbon fiber was flexible and not stiff at all. It literally took an hour trying to get the model out. It looks nice, but it is not usable because it is too flexible. As a result, we had to postpone the tow tank test tomorrow with Steven's Institute until next week. Better luck tomorrow with Nick's hull. Tonight, Ankit and Han John presented the Solar Boat Team to the university community at the Theta Tau's Demystifying Engineering Event. The purpose of the series is to explain the different types of engineering to help students decide which major they want to pursue. Among Bio-medical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Materials Science, the Solar Boat Team represented the Mechanical Engineering Department. We gave a great overview of the team, current projects, and our accomplishments. It was a great networking opportunity to meet other student leaders and Mechanical Engineering Professor Sotirios Mamalis |
Archives
March 2019
Categories |