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A team of Engineering students from Virginia Tech recently competed in, and won
the 2002 Human Powered Submarine contest held in Escondido, California.
The worldwide competition pitted teams from top Engineering schools vying
for awards such as Best Overall Design, Innovation, Best Presentation,
Construction, Safety, and Speed. The Virginia Tech team placed first, second, or third in all categories
and was awarded the Best Overall Engineering Award (top prize) for their
efforts.
Pressure
Systems, a world leader in Liquid Level Transducers, donated two 700 Series
liquid level transducers and aided in the construction of the craft's
electro-pneumatic control system. The transducers provided precise depth
information to the sub's computer system that automatically controlled the
craft's elevators. According to John Hennage, lead student engineer on the team,
the use of PSI's level transducers, "Provided a great improvement over the
mechanical systems used on previous subs. We were able to control the sub with
minimal effort and were the only team to complete every run."
The team from Virginia Tech is
already making plans for next year's competition, which will include a digital
compass in the submarine, computer-controlled variable pitch propellers, and an
on-board data acquisition system to provide an unbiased evaluation of the sub's
performance. |
