Project Update 11/18/2015

Recently we have been working on updating our design for the guideway torsion test half scale model. The drawing and part list we received from Jake were inaccurate, containing parts that are not to scale with the model. We met with Swedish mentor Bengt Gustafsson last week to learn about his most recent guideway design and how our model can be modified to match this new design. There are a few features in the new design which must be updated in our model.

The first change that must be made is the lower rail supports must be turned diagonally in order to prevent the buildup of debris. Next part number 10 in the most recent model design must be changed in order to match the new design. Finally, the units must be converted from metric, which was used in Gustafsson's design, to English units. We must then scale these units to half scale for our final design.

After the design is updated there is still a lot to be done. Unfortunately since the design was changed we must change the meshing on the ANSYS model so that it is still accurate. We also still need to determine where our sensors will be placed when we actually conduct the torsion test. Finally, we must procure parts for the test specimen and fabricate it. It may be difficult to obtain parts with our required dimensions, because the values were converted to inches and then scaled to half size. We must choose parts that are as close to our design dimensions as possible.

Torsion Team Update

After our last presentation, we were faced with some technicalities in the scaled down design, drawn up by Jake. In question were the thicknesses of the metal plates required for the model proposed for the build. At this time we are trying to figure out what parts need to be changed, or whether the initial design should be changed totally. Another factor playing into this design is that the team met with Mr. Bengt, the engineer who patented the bogie design, this last week. He kindly supplied us with his solidworks models for a guideway his team had designed. The model he supplied to us is a full scale model that has many similarities to our design, so the plan going forward is to translate his design into ours and see what changes are best suited for the torsion test.

Torsion Test Presentation #2