Milestone 3

Preliminary Design
Report
Team B.Y.O.H.
ENES 100 Section 0501

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Approvals…3

Executive Summary…4

Preliminary Design Details…4

Hull Structure…4

Levitation…7

Propulsion…8

Power…9

Sensors & Actuators…9

Control Algorithm…10

Friction Obstacle…11-12

Design Drawing…13

Bill of Materials…14

Gantt Chart…15

Construction/Testing Plans…16

Anticipated Difficulties…16

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Approvals

Zain Baqar

John Brennan

Vincent Coburn

Francis Cooper

Christopher Leung

Nicole Podesta

William Neuhauser

Shaan Shakeel

Justin Shive

Nathan Wasserman

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Executive Summary
In this project we plan on building a hovercraft that will complete the course
while learning multiple things about both engineering as a physical activity and the
mental aspects being teamwork and leadership. We will accomplish these goals by
meeting milestone requirements on time and be flexible with our building design to
account for problems that may occur and lastly by paying attention to what we are
doing and how everything works together to create the final product. In our design
we have our base, skirt, plentum, levitation fans, propulsion fans, control system
and sensors, and lastly our batteries. Our base will be made from a styrafoam
kickboard that will be cut to form a tombstone shape. Our Skirt will be made from
ripstock nylon and will be a soft skirt with fingers attatched to the outside if
allowed. Our plentum will be made of balsa wood. We will use lithium Ion batteries
that will give power to our san ace 80 levitation fan, our gws edf 40 propulsion fans,
and our arduino. We will separate out the voltage through our mosfet transistors.
And our control system will consist of two proximity sensors for the friction part of
the course and multiple light sensors on the front and back underneath the craft so
we can calculate our angle difference from the black line. Our propulsion fans will
be constantly running and our turning will occur do to our propulsion fans being
attached to two stepper motors on the front and back.

Hull Structure
After considering the many options available, including plywood, balsa wood,
and construction foam, it was decided that a foam kickboard would be most ideally
suited for use as the base of the hovercraft (See Figure A below).

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Figure A
 (Picture taken from: http://www.amazon.com/Kickboard-Adult-Large-Made-
Shipping/dp/B002FCYT1W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-
goods&qid=1287536148&sr=8-2 )

On the website from which the base was purchased, the manufacturer’s
stated weight is 7 ounces. The conversion was made to grams (See Equation 1
below).

Equation 1 7 ounces x 28.3495231 grams = 198.4466617

grams
1 1 ounce

The dimensions of the kickboard are 18.2” x 14” x 1.2”. The kickboard is
composed of high quality cross-linked closed cell polyethylene foam. There are
multiple reasons why this material was decided to be the most advantageous.
First, the material is durable. It is commonly used construction substance in
domestic plumbing and insulation. Second, as evidenced by the results of Equation
1, the material is very light-weight. Since budgeting weight is an essential
component of the project as a whole, this choice was able to provide the best of both
weight and strength. Third, the material came at a very cheap price of $12.99.

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 There will, however, be some issues that have to be addressed as a result of
the properties of this base. For instance, it may be too light to properly balance the
objects on top, so extra weight may need to be added when the craft is tested. Also,
since it is foam, glue must be applied very carefully to make sure that the additions
stay put. Surface area might also be an issue in the future, because the kickboard is
of a concrete size. Therefore, the fans, batteries, wires, and sensor must be arranged
very deliberately. A secondary kickboard will be cut out for a plenum and attached
via balsa wood. However, it must be sensibly considered for its addition to weight
and cost.
Another consideration for effectively building the craft was the moment of
inertia. To calculate this figure from the data provided, one used the basic equation
I=mr^2. However, since the figure is clearly not circular, it was necessary to
calculate the average radius. The hovercraft can be broken down into the following
dimensions (Figure B).
Figure B

4 inches

14.2 inches

14 inches
As a result, assuming that the moment of inertia will occur at the center of the craft,
if one calculate the area of the entire base, and then equates it to a circle with equal
area, one would be able to find the average radius of the base (See Equation 2).

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Equation 2
(14 in*14.2 in) + (49pi/2 in2)= 275.76902 in2

275.76902 in2=pi(x2)

x = 9.369 in =. 2379751 m = average radius

I=m(r2)

I = (.1984466617 kg)(.2379751 m) 2

I= .0112384608 kg/m2= moment of inertia

Levitation

For levitation purposes the San Ace 80 will be used, operating at 12V and
5.5A. This fan choice will easily be able to provide our craft’s required Δp of 136.6
Pa and Q of 2.26 m3/min (see below), and give a reasonable margin for error should
the design’s weight increase. With the current weight budget, however, both
detuning the fan and venting the airflow through the rear of the hovercraft are being
considered to conserve our optimal hover height and, in the case of the latter,
provide additional forward thrust.

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 mg ( 1.50 ) (9.8)
Δp= = =136.6 Pa
Ap .108 m
2

2 mg 2 ( 1.5 ) ( 9.8 ) .0377 m3 2.26 m 2

Q=hgap l
√ ρ Ap √
=( .002 ) (1.25 )
(1.2 ) ( .108 )
=
sec
=
min

Propulsion

One of our main considerations while designing our hovercraft was weight.
Newton’s second law states that mass is inversely proportional to acceleration, so
the smaller the mass, the greater the acceleration (assuming the F net is constant).
Our hovercraft will most likely be less than 2kg, so the propulsion system will not
need to provide a very high thrust force in order to provide ample acceleration. We
will be using four GWS EDF 40 fans, with one placed at each “corner” of our base.
The GWS EDF 40 fans are optimal for our hovercraft because they start and stop
immediately. Most other fans take time to get going, and take time to slow down to a
stop. This delay in thrust, and residual thrust can result in waddling down the
course. The front two fans will be connected to a stepper motor and steer together,
and back two fans will be connected to a stepper motor and steer together. These
two independent systems will allow for maneuverability as well as stability.
Assuming all four fans are on at full power, and all four fans are pointed in the same
direction, the maximum thrust force is 3.412n. The calculation for maximum thrust
force is as follows:

P=113 n/m2
A=.1076m2
k=.3

Fn=Fw-Fp
Fn=(1.5)(9.8)-(136.6)(.1076)=.0876n

Ffr=Fn*k=(.0876)(.3)=.0262n

Ft=3.412n
Ft-Ffr=ma
3.412-.0262=(1.25)a
a=2.7m/s2

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The success of our hovercraft is determined by its ability to rotate around its center
of mass. If it is unable to rotate, it will be unable to follow the black line. Just as mass
is important in determining linear acceleration, the moment of inertia is important
in determining angular acceleration. Since our base is roughly a thin circle, the
equation for our moment of inertia is I=(.5)(mr2). The mass is approximately 1.25kg,
and the radius is about .29m. This gives: I=.05kgm2. Assuming there is zero friction,
all both sets of fans perpendicular to the center of mass, and both sets of fans are in
opposite directions; the calculation for angular acceleration is as follows:

Tnet=I
Tfan1+2+Tfan3+4=I
RFsin()+RFsin()=I
(.29)(1.706)sin(90)+(.29)(1.706)sin(90)=(.05)
=19.8rad/sec2
Power

The hovercraft will be powered by two independent batteries one 14.8V

3000mAh unit and one 11.1V 8000mAh unit. The 14.8V pack will supply the lift fan,
Arduino, and sensors, while the 11.1V battery is designated for propulsion duty.
Estimated run time is approximately 25 minutes. Please see schematic for power
modulation.

Sensors and Actuators

The hovercraft’s main sensor capabilities will be provided via two arrays of
photo sensors located outboard of the hull at the front and rear. These arrays, of 8
sensors each, will provide immediate and exact notification of any deviation from
the line at the front or rear and relay the information gathered to the independent
front/rear thrust vectoring systems. These signals will become physical movement
through stepper motors that drive two independent pairs of propulsion fans via
drive belts.

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Friction Obstacle
The thrust provided by the four GWS EDF 40 fans will be more than enough
to enable the hovercraft to maintain velocity through the friction obstacle, but the
absence of a line on the track prompts a transition to a secondary sensing system.
Ultrasonic sensors will be mounted 10 cm inboard (to avoid bottoming-out) on
either side of the craft and will be the primary source of input to the control system
exclusively for the duration of the friction obstacle.

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Bill of Materials
Weight Electrical Load
Product Purpose (g) Price (mA) Voltage

$
San Ace 80 Lift Fan 350 58.66 5500 12
$
Arduino Microcontroller 31.05 19.99 18.7 7 to 12
Add. Sensor $
Arduino Sensor Shield Inputs 9.89
$
Kickboard Base 194.3 14.99 N/A N/A
$
GWS EDF 40 (4) Propulsion Fans 108 41.50 19600 8.4
$
Batteries (2) Power Supply 336 99.90
$
1/8" Balsa Wood Plenum 54.68 14.97
$
Rip-Stop Nylon Skirt 1.54 11.50
$
Transistors (10) 15.90
$
Resisters (20) 4.00
$
Connector Wires 2.97
$
CA Glue 6.00
$
Stepper Motor (2) 154 14.00
$
Drive Belt 5.00
$
Line Sensor Array 11.00
$
Proximity Sensors (2) Sand Trap Nav. 50.00

$
Total: 1229.567 380.27 25118.70

15
Construction and Testing Plans
The team’s first and foremost testing priority is to verify the capability of the
externally sourced Arduino microcontroller. Following its successful evaluation, the
remainder of the construction materials will be gathered and the effectiveness of the
cyanoacrylate glue will also be double checked.

Anticipated Difficulties
So first and foremost is the obvious struggle of using two different types of sensors.
Because we chose to go with IR sensors we needed another way to navigate the sand
trap. This required the edition of proximity sensors. The two sets of sensors are
going to make our code a little difficult to create. On a different note because we
have chosen to go with a belt steering system creating the circuits necessary for our
intricate design is going to be a hassle. Also related to the belt system is the way of
powering it we are going to need a very strong battery with a long life span to last
the entire course. Of course keeping the wiring neat is going to be a challenge with
all the circuits we are creating, but that is easily solvable with good planning. Aside
from these major difficulties the only issues that are going to come up are the ones
we don’t know which I'm sure there are plenty of, but life is a learning experience
and you learn from your mistakes.