EG2002 Design and Management for 2012-13 Design task outline

Dr Aldo Rona

Overview
The aim of this document is to communicate the outline of the 2012-13 design task as consolidated after consultation with the Visiting Design Professors, so it can be more widely commented. This document provides: 1. An outline of the design task and assessment criteria. 2. A resources summary for the design task (Budget for new consumables, academic and technical staff time, academic and technical staff skills, university timetable). 3. The design competition rules.

Design task
The 2012-13 design curriculum has to deliver more training while using fewer training resources. It aims to do so by the selection of a design task that is simpler than in 2011-12, that is targeted to the cohort composition, and that has a greater element of upfront design computations to be performed by the students (loads, stress, power, electrical energy consumption estimates) and a smaller fabrication task (to remove the cost of re-work and scrap), and promotes multiple solutions. The 2012-13 theme is space exploration. In the wake of the successful landing on Mars of the NASA rover Curiosity using the sky crane, the task is to create and test a scaled model of the sky crane for a future mission. In 2012-13, groups will be asked to enter the design competition with one of the following 3 design task options: An instrumented sky crane structure (challenge factor 0.9), a sky crane with winch (challenge factor 0.95), a sky crane with winch and release system (challenge factor 1.0). For all 3 design options, the materials are limited to just a single 1m2 sheet of aluminium, tempered to H14 standard EN AW-1050A, 0.9mm thick (plus fasteners and cables) and one veroboard (plus electrical components, electrical motors, and one power supply).

Instrumented sky crane structure

The task is to design the bridge-shaped sky crane structure from a single sheet of aluminium 1m2 by 0.9mm thick (18swg). The structure is to fit within a box 150 mm wide, 400 mm long, and 500 mm high at all times (including under load), as shown in Figure 1. The sky crane has to be simply supported and free-standing at all times on four hard points. The sky crane has to accommodate a central clearance 150 mm wide, 160 mm long, and 120 mm high at all times, to be used as a rover garage. The sky crane shall feature a loading platform 62mm long by 40 mm wide at the mid-span, 220 mm above the reference ground. The platform shall have a clearance 62 mm long by 40 mm wide by 30 mm high above it at all times for testing purposes. An additional clearance 80 mm wide, Page 1 of 8

400 mm long, and 170 mm high is required 250 mm above the reference ground at all times for testing purposes. Each group shall produce an engineering estimate of the sky crane structure failure load that is taken as the point at which the force-displacement curve is intercepted by a line drawn parallel to the initial elastic curve but offset by an initial displacement of 5mm, as detailed in Definition of failure load.docx. The sky crane shall be instrumented using a maximum of 3 strain gauges, to be fixed at the students discretion on the sky crane structure, to estimate the axial forces in a small number of critical components previously identified from structural analysis. Each team shall design and build an electrical circuit for the strain gauges (like a Wheatstone bridge) using a single 95 mm by 127 mm veroboard and only the electrical components available from the electronic component inventory of the Department of Engineering. The veroboard shall be mounted on the sky crane structure to fit within the above sky crane volume limits. Students should determine and demonstrate a method for detecting that the sky crane load has reached 60% of the sky crane failure load. This may be achieved by a simple voltage comparator that activates a warning light indicating that the sky crane has reached an unsafe load. Additional features, such as additional lights indicating various part load thresholds, are not compulsory but will be looked upon favourably by the evaluators. To be fit for purpose, the overall design has to be able to be tested using the Tinius Olsden extensometer in the Mechanics of Materials laboratory, Department of Engineering. The extensometer load range is xx N to 25kN. The design performance shall be evaluated competitively by Test 2 of section Test Protocol, according to the following criteria: 1. The highest ratio (a) of the sky crane failure load to sky crane weight, with the failure load being determined as detailed in Definition of failure load.docx. A typical value for this is 3.3. 2. The lowest error (b) in the analytical estimation of the sky crane failure load. A typical error is 30%. 3. The lowest error (c) in the estimation of the applied load by the strain gauge circuit at the 60% failure load point. A typical error is 10%. 4. The lowest ratio (d) of the overall project cost to the 2012-13 design budget. A typical value for this is a 20% under-spend. 5. The lowest error (e) in the sky crane failure load with respect to a target load of 50 Newtons, which is an estimate of the load achievable from the 1m2 sheet of aluminium 0.9mm thick. A typical error is 10%. Factors (a-e) are combined to obtain the design performance that determines the final ranking of the design competition, using the design performance calculator.xlsx. Each design group is to deliver their own prototype for testing on the date of the design competition. Late delivery will incur in the standard University of Leicester penalty for late delivery of coursework.

Sky crane with winch

The task is to design a sky crane inclusive of the winch from a single sheet of aluminium 1m2 by 0.9mm thick (18swg). The structure is to fit within a box 150 mm wide, 400 mm long, and 500 mm high at all times (including under load and when being deployed), see Figure 1. The sky crane has to be simply supported and free-standing at all times on four hard points. The sky crane has to accommodate a central clearance 150 mm wide, 160 mm long, and 120 mm high at all times, to be used as a rover garage. The sky crane shall feature a loading platform 62 mm long by 40 mm wide at Page 2 of 8

the mid-span, 220 mm above the reference ground. The platform shall have a clearance 62 mm long by 40 mm wide by 30 mm high above it at all times for testing purposes. An additional clearance 80 mm wide, 400 mm long, and 170 mm high is required at 250 mm above the reference ground at all times for testing purposes. Each group shall produce an engineering estimate of the sky crane structure failure load that is taken as the point at which the force-displacement curve is intercepted by a line drawn parallel to the initial elastic curve but offset by an initial displacement of 5mm, as detailed in Definition of failure load.docx. The sky crane shall feature a winch and pulley mechanism to lower a dead weight of 3 kg mass placed under the loading platform at mid-span by 54 mm vertically, within a time constraint of 2 minutes for lowering the weight. The wheels of the winch and pulley are to be manufactured out of the 1m2 aluminium sheet (18swg). The pulleys are to run on dry pins (a small amount of lubricant oil is allowed). The winch wheel is to be driven by an electric motor. Sky cranes that use a DC motor may also use a counter-weight assembly, as in a lift, to reduce the holding torque. The counterweight will not be counted towards the sky crane weight for evaluation purposes. The whole structure, including any counter-weight, needs to fit within the stated profile at all times. The electric motor shall be powered by reversible drive electrical circuit to be built using a single 95 mm by 127 mm veroboard and only the electrical components available from the electronic component inventory of the Department of Engineering. A stock of 5 stepper motors, 10 stepper motor driver cards, 25 geared DC motors, and 30 DC motor driver cards is available to be allocated to groups on a first come first served basis. The veroboard shall be mounted on the sky crane structure to fit within the volume limits of Figure 1. Students should demonstrate a method for lowering the weight. In its lowered position, the weight shall have a uniform clearance 10 mm high at all times from the reference ground and hang freely. To be fit for purpose, the overall design has to be able to be tested using the Tinius Olsden extensometer in the Mechanics of Materials laboratory, Department of Engineering. The extensometer load range is xx N to 25kN. The design performance shall be evaluated competitively by Test 1 and Test 2 of section Test Protocol, according to the following criteria: 1. The highest ratio (a) of the sky crane failure load to sky crane weight, with the failure load being determined as detailed in Definition of failure load.docx. A typical value for this is 3.0. 2. The lowest error (b) in the sky crane failure load with respect to a target load of 50 Newtons, which is an estimate of the load achievable from the 1m2 sheet of aluminium 0.9mm thick. A typical error is 10%. 3. Ability to lower the weight by 80 mm and, if so, the lowest electrical energy (c) required for this operation. A typical value for this is 3.6 Joules. 4. The lowest ratio (d) of the overall project cost to the 2012-13 design budget. A typical value for this is a 20% under-spend. 5. The lowest error (e) in the winch arrest position with respect to a target height of 10 mm above the reference ground. A typical error is 15%. Factors (a-e) are combined to obtain the design performance that determines the final ranking of the design competition, using the design performance calculator.xlsx. Each design group is to deliver their own prototype for testing on the date of the design competition. Late delivery will incur in the standard University of Leicester penalty for late delivery of coursework. Page 3 of 8

Sky crane with winch and release

The task is to design a sky crane from a single sheet of aluminium 1m2 by 0.9mm thick (18swg). The structure is to fit within a box 150 mm wide, 400 mm long, and 500 mm high at all times (including under load), see Figure 1. The sky crane has to be simply supported and free-standing at all times on four hard points. The crane has to accommodate a central clearance 150 mm wide, 160 mm long, and 120 mm high at all times, to be used as a rover garage. The crane shall feature a loading platform with a plan area 62 mm long by 40 mm wide at the mid-span, 220 mm above the reference ground. The platform shall have a clearance 62 mm long by 40 mm wide by 30 mm high above it at all times for testing purposes. An additional clearance 80 mm wide, 400 mm long, and 170 mm high is required at 250 mm above the reference ground at all times for testing purposes. The crane shall have a winch and pulley system that enables it to lower a dead weight of 3 kg mass located under the loading platform by 54 mm vertically. In its lowered position, the weight shall have a uniform clearance 10 mm high at all times from the reference ground and hang freely. In addition, the system should feature mechanism for releasing the weight from its suspending wire. The wheels of the winch and pulley are to be manufactured out of the 1m2 aluminium sheet. Any pulley is to run on a dry pin (a small amount of lubricant oil is allowed). The winch wheel is to be driven by an electric motor that is to be manually controlled using switches. Alternatively, eight NI 6008 cards are available for implementing digital control and 1/3 of the cost of a new card will be charged as project cost to groups who elect to use them. A stock of 5 stepper motors, 10 stepper motor driver cards, 25 geared DC motors, and 30 DC motor driver cards is available to be allocated to groups on a first come first served basis. Sky cranes that use a DC motor may also use a counter-weight assembly, as in a lift, to reduce the holding torque. The counter-weight will not be counted towards the crane weight for testing purposes. The whole structure, including any counter-weight, needs to fit within the stated profile at all times. To be fit for purpose, the overall design has to be able to be tested using the Tinius Olsden extensometer in the Mechanics of Materials laboratory, Department of Engineering, when the loading platform is located at the mid-span. The extensometer load range is xx N to 25kN. The design performance shall be evaluated competitively by Test 1 and Test 2 of section Test Protocol, according to the following criteria: 1. The highest ratio (a) of the crane failure load to crane weight, with the failure load being determined as detailed in Definition of failure load.docx. A typical value for this is 3.0. 2. The lowest error (b) in the sky crane failure load with respect to a target load of 50 Newtons, which is an estimate of the load achievable from the 1m2 sheet of aluminium 0.9mm thick. A typical error is 10%. 3. Ability to lower the weight and, if so, the lowest electrical energy (c) required for this operation. A typical value for this is 3.6 Joules. 4. The lowest ratio (d) of the overall project cost to the 2012-13 design budget. A typical value for this is a 20% under-spend. 5. The lowest error (e) in the winch arrest position with respect to a target height of 10 mm above the reference ground. A typical error is 15%. 6. Successful actuation (f) of the release mechanism at 10 mm above the reference ground (pass/fail). Factors (a-f) are combined to obtain the design performance that determines the final ranking of the design competition, using the design performance calculator.xlsx. Each design group is to deliver Page 4 of 8

their own prototype for testing on the date of the design competition. Late delivery will incur in the standard University of Leicester penalty for late delivery of coursework.

Resources
The following resources are available per group: Personnel: Combined mechanical technician time (Ian Bromley, Alan Wale, Julian Jones, Mechanics of Materials technician, Simon Millward, Barry Chester, Graham Clark, Dipak Raval): 32 hours. Combined electrical technician time (Bilal Haveliwala, Rash Patel, Mohammed Arkate, Luigi Alessandro, Andy J Truman, Tom Robotham): 16 hours. Combined academic tuition time during timetabled classes (Aldo Rona, Csaba Sinka, Simon Gill, Andy Willby, Andrew Norman, Nikola Chalashkanov): 60 hours of timetabled group activity. Materials and new acquisitions: 1m2 of aluminium sheet, tempered to H14 standard EN AW-1050A, M2.5 to M5 nuts and bolts and washers available from the Mechanical Workshop consumables store, one rope bundle, junior hack saw spare blade, drill bits. The H14 grade for aluminium has a tensile strength 105 N/mm2< Rw<145 105 N/mm2, a 0.2% proof stress Rw,0.2=85 N/mm2, an elongation A50,min=2% to 6%, and a Brinell hardness HBC of 34. One pack of 5 strain gauges, one breadboard, one 1 veroboard, the electrical components available from the Electrical Workshop consumables store, a stabilised DC power supply with 2 channels at (30V, 3A) and 1 channel at (5V, 3A), a digital multi-meter, electrical wiring, solder flux. Up to two DC electrical motors with drive cards or two stepper motors with drive cards will be allocated per group on a first come first served basis from the current stock of 5 stepper motors, 10 stepper motor driver cards, 25 geared DC motors, and 30 DC motor driver cards. These will be charged at 1/3 of their replacement cost to the project cost list of the groups who claims them. The cost of acquisitions and consumables is limited to 250 per group plus 10% contingency. Fabrication methods: Each group shall aim to complete 80% of the fabrication by using the hand tools provided in the 69 pieces Duratool D00269 toolbox located in the design cupboard allocated to each group. One Electrical Toolbox that can be booked out by each group from Engineering Stores. They may ask for additional fabrication to be performed by the technical staff using any of the fabrication tools available within the Department of Engineering (ask the technical staff for an updated overview of these). These activities will be charged against the above allocation of technical time. Groups are encouraged to discuss their fabrication plans with the technical staff at the earliest opportunity. Such consultations will not be charged against the groups technical staff time allocation. Page 5 of 8

Test protocol
Test 1: Lowering (and releasing) the weight (prototypes with winch only)
1. The structure is placed by the students on the extensometer platform. 2. The students will place a 3 kg mass dead weight under the loading platform resting at 90 mm above reference ground. 3. Technical staff will activate the electrical energy monitor, supplied by Mr. Andy Willby. 4. The students will lower the weight vertically by 54 mm. 5. Sky crane with winch and release only: Students will release the weight from a height of 10 mm.

Test 2: Structural strength of the sky crane (all prototypes)

1. The structure will be weighed to establish its reference weight. 2. The structure is placed by the students on the extensometer platform. 3. The extensometer will be used to displace the loading platform downwards and produce a force-displacement curve. The point of failure is defined as the point at which the forcedisplacement curve is intercepted by a line drawn parallel to the initial elastic curve but offset by an initial displacement of 5mm, as detailed in Definition of failure load.docx. 4. Instrumented crane only: The strain gauge output is recorded during the extensometer test.

Design competition rules

Students have unsupervised free access the four Tinius Olsden extensometers in the Mechanics of Materials laboratory, Department of Engineering, at any time when this equipment is not otherwise used, for the limited purpose of checking whether their structure fits under the extensometer. Students are allowed to operate the extensometer only under the supervision of the technical staff, before the design competition, and the technical staff time for these tests is a chargeable project cost. Students should NOT attempt to determine their structure failure load in advance of the design competition, as they will not be allowed any additional aluminium to repair their structure. At the design competition 1. Each team is allowed 15 minutes of preparation time. 2. The structure has to be self-standing and simply supported on the ground. No ground anchoring is allowed. 3. Winch only: Students can add a counter-weight with mass in the range 0.1 kg to 10 kg to pulley system at the start of Test 1. Technical staff will measure the vertical and horizontal displacements, record the weight delivered on the scale, and unload the weights. 4. Winch only: The electrical energy consumption will be monitored by a power meter by the technical staff. 5. Only the loading platform is allowed to touch the extensometer. The rest of the structure has to stay clear of the extensometer at all times. A structure that touches the extensometer will be deemed to have reached its failure load. 6. The structure shall be tested for the minimum load of Graham Clark: please specify and will not be tested above 25kN, which is the extensometer maximum load. Any structure not Page 6 of 8

displaying any plastic deformation at the extensometer maximum load will be deemed to have a failure load equal to this value for evaluation purposes. 7. Students are not allowed to manually adjust either the position or the mass of any counterweight during testing. The structure may however feature a self-adjusting counter-weight position by means of a pivot or slider. The structure may not let go/drop any counter-weight for safety reasons during testing.

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Figure 1: Bounding volume for the sky crane, all dimensions in m.

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