New Wet-sub Design

Although I’ve had to withdraw from the human powered sub race this year I have been working on a couple of powered wet sub design concepts for Deep/Quest2 Expeditions, a Canadian underwater exploration and film documentary company led by Dr. Kenn Feigelman. They have a great web site that goes into depth, no pun intended, on their past, current and future projects. Check them out at http://deepquest2expeditions.com/.

Originally we were going motorize and use Faux Fish and Bogus Batoid in one of their documentaries not only as props but as camera carrying subs. After reviewing what they needed versus what we could actually do with Faux Fish and Bogus Batoid Kenn asked me if I would be interested in designing and building a powered wet sub specifically for their underwater filming applications. How could I say no? The specifications for the sub are still evolving as we explore different sub concepts. Stay tuned because when we finally settle on a design I will be documenting the whole construction and testing process.

I will be showing the sub concepts here as I get them drawn up. Here is the first.

I am currently using Alibre Cad software for the design and it seems to be working out fine. I bought this program a few years ago and this is the first big project that I am using it for. I use Autocad Inventor at my real job so picking up Alibre was pretty easy. There were a few things that I had issue with but for the time being I will blame it on my inexperience with the software. I’ll do software updates as I progress on this project.

The first real challenge was to model the 3d manikins to put in the sub to verify size requirements. The manikins are representative of 95th percentile males wearing twin 80 aluminum tanks. We will still make some physical mock ups that we will put underwater with actual divers to verify final measurements before beginning construction.

Also, Alibre has recently partnered with a conpany that makes a great photo rendering software called Hypershot that I just downloaded. I can’t wait to try it out.

More to follow.

Bogus Batoid Drive, Operation Video Coming Soon

I just started putting together a video showing the drive mechanism operation for Bogus Batoid. I should have it posted within a week or so.

Upon first glance the drive mechanism looks much more complex than would be needed but here is what I was trying to accomplish. I had to be able to flap two large wings while alternating the angle of attack of the leading edge of the wings, into the direction of travel from a seated position, underwater. The drive had to be pedal powered from a recumbant position. It had to have a variable drive ratio since I didn’t know how much force the wings would actually require to move up and down and by changing the drive ratio I could accommodate a large range of force requirements. It had to have a method to adjust the amplitude of the wing. And finally, it had to have a method to control the angle of attack of the leading edge of the wings.

There wasn’t a whole lot of information available about this sort of drive and due to time constraints I wouldn’t be able to make major changes in time for the race so I had to design in as many adjustments as I could up front. As it was, Bogus Batoid only had a few minutes in the water before we left for the race, and this was in an inflatable swimming pool in our back yard. So inspite of not being able to tune the drive at all it still made it down the course. 

So check back in a week or two to see how it was done.

90 Days Until the 10th International Submarine Race

Well, it’s down to 90 days until the 10th International Submarine Race starts. I’m sure that all of the teams are pretty excited by now. Some have already started their in-water testing and some still have a long way to go. But one thing is for sure, they are all having fun.

I wish that I could say the same for Mock Medusa and I. I regret to say that I have had to withdraw from the race this year. The economy won this round and at this time I just can’t justify the expense of building a sub for the race.  I will be following the race as best I can and maybe see if I can even come out to watch the race for a day or two.

Anyway, I would like to offer my best wishes to all of the teams that will be attending and I expect to see some new world records. Be sure to follow the latest info on the race at: http://isrsubrace.org/main.cfm?r1=3.00&ID=21&level=1

I will see you all at the 11th ISR in 2011.

Fauxfish

122 Days Until the 10th International Submarine Races

Well the time is really flying now. It’s down to only 122 days.  I’m sure some of the teams have completed their subs already and are in the final testing and optimizing stages, but some… well they are still trying to get their acts together, what will we build, how will we build, who will pedal etc. etc. and all having a great time at whatever stage of construction they are at. The veteran teams know exactly what they have to do and what to expect at the race. The newbies have surely reviewed whatever information that they could collect about what really goes on at the race but it doen’t begin to touch the actual experience. I think that the biggest part of the race is the comradere and how well everyone gets along. If you need help with something, a tool or a support diver all you have to do is ask. Yes, it is a competition and everyone wants to be the fastest but it is above all a learning experience for everyone from the youngest to those of us whose fins are older than most of the contestants.

The organizing group, the many volunteers, the U.S.  Navy for hosting the event and the Navy support divers all do a fantastic job.

Here is a copy of the press release that lists the teams and gives some information about the race.

INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE RACESä

NEWS:

For Immediate Release Media Contact: John Hussey, ISR:

843-278-1474 (home)

843-209-8140 (cell)

seacure@homesc.com

10^th INTERNATIONAL SUBRACES

TO CELEBRATE ISR 20^TH ANNIVERSARY

… Record Number of Subs Expected in Human-Powered

Engineering Design Competition…

CARDEROCK, MD. Dec. 16, 2008 — The 20^th Anniversary running of the International Submarine Races™, the world’s only engineering design competition for human-powered underwater vehicles, will be held June 22-26, 2009, at the U. S. Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Carderock test tank facility in Bethesda, MD.

This will be the 10^th in a series of biennial races that test the creative skills of young engineering students from colleges, universities and technical and high schools from throughout the world. Teams wearing scuba gear compete in one- and two-person “wet” submarines designed to run submerged along a 100-meter measured course in Carderock’s model basin.

The 8.035 knot speed mark, set in 2007 by the OMER 5 submarine from the Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Montreal, Canada, will be difficult to beat, according to ISR Head Judge Claude Brancart. It is a speed most human-powered submarine enthusiasts previously deemed unachievable. Speeds have steadily improved over the 20-year history of the ISR.

ISR officials said 2009 will feature a record number of entries. By early December, 30 teams had indicated their plans to participate in the competition. Two more were expected. The teams are:

University of California San Diego

Sussex County NJ Technical School

University of British Columbia, Canada

Wheaton MD Submarine Works

University of Houston

Millersville University, PA

University of Florida

Virginia Tech

Scuba Sub Team, MD

University of Maryland

University of Michigan

Texas A&M

University of Maine

Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico

Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Quebec, Canada Hernando City Schools, FL

Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada

Faux Fish Technologies, IL

University of Washington

Western Washington University

Everett WA Community College

Universidad Simon Bolivar, Venezuela

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, NY

Florida Atlantic University

(Note: some schools are fielding more than one team.)

Page 2

International Submarine Races

As part of the observance of the ISR’s 20^th anniversary, plans include a display of previous winning OMER submarines, Bruce Plazyk’s exotic designs from past races, and a full-scale replica of the Revolutionary War submarine, the Turtle.

“The purpose of the sub races is to provide an educational opportunity for aspiring young engineers,” said Nancy Hussey, ISR Executive Director. “Their participation in the design, construction, and operation of a human-powered submarine offers real-time application of theoretical knowledge, hands-on creativity, problem solving and teamwork skill opportunities. The subrace engineering design competition is an investment in the future of our young people, not only to help them compete in the global technology economy, but to provide a better trained and experienced resource pool of bright and industrious students to help the defense industry and the government fill future national needs. The ISR experience increases their value to potential employers. Studies show that students who can put their classroom skills to practical use fare far better in the post-college job market.”

The Platinum 10th ISR sponsors are the USN Naval Sea Systems Command, NSWC, the Electric Boat Corporation and the Oceanic Engineering Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Many Gold and Silver sponsors contribute as well. This will be the seventh time that the ISR will be staged at the 3200-foot-long David Taylor Model Basin at NSWC. The submarine races began in Florida in 1989 in the open ocean and have grown to see the participation of teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.

The 10^th ISR Contestant Manual is available at the ISR website, www.isrsubrace.org. All contestant inquiries about the race should be addressed to Claude Brancart, ISR Contestant Liaison and Head Judge, at (207) 729-7873 or by email at c.brancart@ieee.org.

Organizations or individuals interested in sponsorship, including in-kind, may contact Nancy Hussey, ISR Executive Director, at seacure@earthlink.net, or by phone at (843) 278-1474 and cell (843) 830-5008, or Dave McGee, Assistant Race/Executive Director, at edavemcgee@cox.net or (703) 399-7617.

The ISR organization is all volunteer; those interested in becoming volunteers may contact Sue Peterson, Volunteer Coordinator, at speterson@chesapeake.net.

###

137 Days to the 10th International Submarine Races

Well, we’re down to 137 days to the start of the 10th International Submarine Races. No word yet on the number of teams or the identification of teams that will be competing this year. I’ve started browsing the web sites of past competitors and will soon be posting links to teams that appear planning on competing. This at least will give some insight as to who will attend and possibly what subs they may be bringing.

As usual, I’m far behind on my sub, Mock Medusa, but stay tuned.

Also, I have had some people contact me saying that they haven’t found some of the photo diaries or tail operation videos of Faux Fish. These are all on separate pages, not the regular blog posts.  If you don’t see the listing of pages click on the title “Fauxfish’s Weblog” at the top of any page and it should show the listing of pages and archives on the right hand column. Under “Pages” you will find the extended photo diaries and videos.

My Two Cents on the Recession, While I Still Have Them

A company that I am closely associated with recently laid off 14 people. Now that doesn’t seem like a lot, but percentage wise Caterpillar would have to lay off 38,000 instead of the 22,000 so far. Another company I know laid off 4 people. They originally had 6 employees, that’s 66% or in Caterpillar numbers it would be 74,000 people. I know that the large numbers make great headlines but where are we hearing about the tens or hundreds of thousands of small companies that are having to let people go, often at much higher percentages than the big boys? A restaurant that we frequently go to has been getting less and less filled. Eight months ago there was normally a half  hour wait to get seated. On our last visit we were seated immediately . About 30% of the tables were empty the whole time we were there. The owner told us that he had to let some of his people go because of the slowdown. How many of these stories are being played out in America right now? Let’s not limit it to America, let’s look at the whole world. China just said that it has 29,000,000 unemployed workers going back to the country.

The government says that some companies or businesses are too big or too important to let them fail. What about the small companies, the ones that employ the majority of American workers, the ones whose owners have their own assets on the line and the ones whose owners genuinely care about the welfare of their employees. These small companies and businesses have no hope of bailouts. No government agency is going to come to their rescue. Some say that these companies should change and adapt if they want to stay in business. Fine, but hold large businesses to the same requirements. Don’t just throw money at them.

Some of the automakers announced today that they were offering buyouts to their hourly employees that ranged from $25,000 to $50,000 along with a $25,000 voucher towards a new vehicle. I hope that the money for these buyouts isn’t coming from the taxpayers. How about Subaru and Hyundai? It seems that they figured out a way to increase their sales in spite of the recession. Maybe the Big Three could take a lesson.

Another thing that irritated me was that when I took my car in for service the dealer found a whole litany of things that he said needed to be done. Just because business is slow don’t make things up for the people that do come in. The same goes for the doctor, dentist or service people.

In regards to jump-starting the housing market, couldn’t the government offer very low-interest FHA loans , to qualified borrowers. Would houses begin selling again if mortgage rates were 2%? If it was the collapse of the housing industry that triggered this mess isn’t that the industry we should be trying to restore?

And finally, how much interest are we going to be paying yearly for our trillion dollar bailouts? Who will be getting this interest? I haven’t heard this mentioned much in the news?

Faux Fish Tail Operation Videos

There is now a page published showing the tail operation videos for Faux Fish. Although they were filmed in my living room and not underwater the videos demonstrate the operation of the tail drive mechanism. http://fauxfish.wordpress.com/faux-fish-tail-operation-video/

To see the tail operate underwater see post dated November 10, 2008.

Faux Fish Tail Photos Now Available

There is now a page available showing details of the Faux fish tail mechanism. Please check it out. Since Faux fish is currently in my living room I am very motivated to get the video showing the tail operation done.  I should be getting the video showing the operation posted in the next few days. http://fauxfish.wordpress.com/faux-fish-tail-photos/

Upcoming Faux Fish Tail Operation Details

Sorry for not keeping up with this blog lately. The company that I work for is getting ready for a big trade show next month and I have been tied up with a couple of big projects. I am one of the fortunate engineers that get to work in a little known glamorous branch of engineering, the design of battery changing machines for forklift trucks. Our machines pull 4000# batteries from lift trucks, put them away on a rack stacked 1 to 10 high to be recharged and pull a fresh battery to be replaced in the truck. All in under a couple of minutes.

Anyway, next week I will be bringing Faux Fish in from out in the snow to start the conversion to battery power. Before I take her all apart I will be taking a series of photographs and videos to show details of the tail operation. Maybe someone can use some of the concepts or improve on them for their own swimming sub. Part of the conversion process will be to outfit the sub with a hard ballast tank and trim system. This is necessary because the foam insulation blocks that we use in the race may crush and lose buoyancy at deeper operational depths. I will also be taking some hull sample and putting them in a pressure chamber to see how the foam core hull stands up to pressure. I’m trying for a 100 foot operational depth but we will see. To eliminate the necessity of having a pressure resistant battery housing I will probably go with a battery box that balances internal pressure to external pressure without having to oil fill it. Details to follow.

I also started putting together a 1/4 scale model of Mock Medusa to see if the concept even works. I hope to find an indoor swimming pool to let me test it out in before the end of the year. Maybe the local YMCA?

Sand Shark Photo Diary

I just added a photo diary page for my first human-powered sub, Sand Shark. I have more pictures somewhere but until I find them the diary gives a little insight as to how it was built. What is unique about this sub besides its swimming ability is the fact that the skin is made from 1/4″ wetsuit material. The biggest problem with this is that the material takes some work to stretch it as the tail moves. Also on deeper dives the will be some decrease in buoyancy as the material is compressed. In spite of this it does look cool. So stop in and take a look. http://fauxfish.wordpress.com/sand-shark-photo-diary/