H2Go: WATER POWERED CART

Brandon Ho
Josh Yoon

J. Jacobowitz

ADVISED BY PROFESSOR DAVID WOOTTON

 

This year’s ASME Student Design Competition, titled “H2Go”, challenged students to design a water-powered, remote-controlled transportation device. Teams were tasked with implementing an efficient method of converting the potential energy of water into useful energy to drive the device across the playing field, transporting as much water as possible within the given time limit. Points were awarded based on the quantity of water transported, with bonus multipliers for performing extra tasks or for having a highly-rated design. To generate electrical energy, we manufactured a custom alternator from 3D-printed parts, neodymium magnets, and magnet wire. To spin our alternator, we directed a jet of water at a 3D-printed Pelton turbine. The energy was stored in a super-capacitor bank and was used to power two low-voltage DC motors when controlled by the Bluetooth-connected smartphone app. The design cycle focused on refinement, resulting in improvements such as tripling the drive distance through redesigning the motor controllers and altering the flow system to reduce the charging time by 48 percent. The design scored 2nd out of 17 in the competition.

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