Hybrid car design
We were assigned to construct a prototype of a car that could run as close to 5 meters as possible while carrying a load of 100 pennies or 250 grams. We had about 3 weeks to complete this project.
For our project my group, Jonathan Stickle and Max vonBlankenburg, was instantly drawn to the idea of building our car with motors and batteries. It was an easy decision we all agreed upon and were excited about. Our first design, one out of many, was a bit of a long shot and quite complicated. It involved a battery powering two motors turning the front two wheels.
While the front to wheels was what carried the car forward, the back two wheels were what was going to stop the car at 5 meters. There would be an axis connecting the two wheels that rested on posts. The axis itself would have a screw carved through it, so the string would keep being wound around it. When the string is taught enough it breaks through two loosely connected wire that then breaks the circuit and stop the motors which stops the car. This proved rather tricky, especially designing the axis so we scratched that idea and ended up taking out the screw, and had the string just wind around a regular axis to break the connection. |
We primed and polished our new idea. Our car still wasn't working a week before the project was due. I offered to take it home but Max said he could probably do more with the types of tools at his house so he brought it home. He came back the next day with the car the same but a completely new idea. I took it home for the next two nights and made a total of 2 completely different cars and 6 different ideas.
I got the car to work and gathered all the data we needed. Suddenly, on the morning of our presentation I was testing it again to fix the string length to go 5 meters on the school floor instead of the tile I had tested it on at home, and on one of the tests it wouldn't budge. We replaced the battery, reconnected all the wires, but nothing. The damage couldn't be fixed in time. We proceeded to show our failing car and presentation, the car failed but our presentation stayed together more or less. |
Below is a copy of our powerpoint presentation:
CONCEPTS BEHIND THE CAR:
Potential Energy:
The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position relative to others, stresses within itself, electric charge, and other factors. Potential Energy is sort of like stored energy, such as when a spring is coiled, it contains energy but it is not using it in it's coiled state. The batteries powering our car contains potential energy.
Kinetic Energy: Energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion. Kinetic energy is the energy of being in motion. It uses that stored potential energy and turns it into kinetic energy. Most of the potential energy is transferred into kinetic energy.
Thermal Energy: Thermal energy is the part of the total potential energy and kinetic energy of an object or sample of matter that results in the system temperature. Thermal energy is the part of potential energy that is not transferred into kinetic energy. It comes off in the form of heat. That is why the hood of cars become warm after use, the engines give off heat or thermal energy.
Acceleration: Increase in the rate or speed of something. Acceleration is very easy to understand. It is just when something moves faster. Throughout the time we were testing it to try and get it to 5 meters, we had to incorporate the acceleration. Our car accelerates and decelerates as it reaches the 5 meter mark.
Potential Energy:
The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position relative to others, stresses within itself, electric charge, and other factors. Potential Energy is sort of like stored energy, such as when a spring is coiled, it contains energy but it is not using it in it's coiled state. The batteries powering our car contains potential energy.
Kinetic Energy: Energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion. Kinetic energy is the energy of being in motion. It uses that stored potential energy and turns it into kinetic energy. Most of the potential energy is transferred into kinetic energy.
Thermal Energy: Thermal energy is the part of the total potential energy and kinetic energy of an object or sample of matter that results in the system temperature. Thermal energy is the part of potential energy that is not transferred into kinetic energy. It comes off in the form of heat. That is why the hood of cars become warm after use, the engines give off heat or thermal energy.
Acceleration: Increase in the rate or speed of something. Acceleration is very easy to understand. It is just when something moves faster. Throughout the time we were testing it to try and get it to 5 meters, we had to incorporate the acceleration. Our car accelerates and decelerates as it reaches the 5 meter mark.
HIGHLIGHTS OF PROJECT:
One thing I can say is my group definitely did well with generating ideas. Many weren't used but still crucial to the final project. We probably have thought of over 20 different ideas about our project. We are also very persistent and determined. While many would've given up on the idea of motors we stuck with it and kept going one failure after the other. |
THINGS TO WORK ON:
My group needs to work on knowing when to quit. While you shouldn't quit things when it gets tough, we still need to realize when something just isn't working and to know to move on. Our idea was cool but with our timeframe, we should've switched to another energy source, a simpler one. Personally, this project challenged my self determination. I worked many hard hours, changing and changing the design. My frustration grew after many failures but only pushed me to want to make the car work even more. |