Well the plug for the new hull has arrived and final preparation in underway (See below).We are planning to start mold construction this weekend. Stay tuned for more updates!
Nearly completed hull plug
Team members busily sanding the plug
I thought a quick update on the teams progress was far overdue. Now that most of the team has returned from co-op, we are able to get right back into things and improve the submarine for the next competition.
As far as the submarine is concerned we are planning on overhauling the majority of the internal systems, including the gearbox and drive train, steering system, and the emergency buoy. While we’re working on all of this, we also have a 4th year capstone team working a on the design of a new hull.
So at this point we are nearly one full can of Bondo into the particularly dusty step of fairing the hull. The first half of the hull is coming along quite nicely and the second half – although it still needs some work – should hopefully be following suit as soon as we get a warm(er), dry day.
More good news, SUBC managed to acquire sponsorship from CD-adapco, who have graciously offered to supply the team with several licenses for STAR-CCM+. With this powerful fluid dynamics software the team can now work on designing more efficient control surfaces and propulsion systems.
Finally, we are hoping to have a booth at this years upcoming E-fest at Vancouver Public Library. I will post more information once we have confirmed we will be there.
Our progress to date:
More updates to come.
So it took a little longer than we thought (and due to some ventilation issues may take a little longer still), but the hull mold is coming along! To date we have completed the inner resin layer of the mold as well as a layer of fiberglass mat, and have successfully separated it from the plug. All that remains is two more layers of mat and then affixing the mold to a wooden frame and then it’s on to the hull!
A few updates from SUBC:
First of all, we will be setting up a booth at the Engineering Open House this Saturday from 9:00 – 4:00 in the Kaiser Atrium. There will be other student teams present, as well as professors and students from all branches of engineering, and of course, a barbecue. So, come on out and take a look around. More information is available in volume 3, issue 11 of the e-nEUS.
As for our progress on the hull mold, we have had promising results from our materials compatibility tests. For one, we know are confident that the epoxy won’t melt the foam used for the plug. As well, we determined that the wax we hope to use as release wax seems to work quite well and, aAs it is easier to apply, it should help speed up the mold making process.
Remember, the open house is TOMORROW from 9:00 – 4:00 in Kaiser. We look forward to seeing you there!
Hey there, I thought I’d give a little update on what we are currently working on at SUBC. For the past little while we’ve been working on fairing the hull shaped plug we are using to make the mold. However, this being complete, we are now ready to move on to epoxying the surface of the plug, then on to making the actual mold!
Before we do this, we decided it would be best to do a series of tests to verify compatibility of materials. Such tests included, testing if epoxy resin and fiberglass chopped strand mat is readily separable from our release wax, and if the epoxy resin will have any negative reactions with the hull plug itself.
Initial results appear promising (i.e. nothing caught fire or dissolved), however some will need to wait at least a day before we’ll have the results we are looking for. After that we should have the information we need to continue with mold construction and we will, hopefully, have a completed mold by early December.
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