Product Proposal

Name: Krish Sivarajah

Topic: Mechanical Engineering

Introduction and Statement of Purpose

What I want to accomplish:

Apply vehicle design procedure and technique into a project that will

incorporate renewable energy

I plan on creating a product that displays both principles of vehicular design and

renewable energy. The idea that I have finalized on was designing and developing a

spoiler for a car that can be used to capture wind energy and store it within a

battery. Conceptually the idea is very straight forward as the purpose of a spoiler is

to, essentially re-route the flow air so that a moving vehicle would be more

aerodynamic, and have a strong performance. This idea incorporates ideas of both

vehicular design, as I would have to make an effective spoiler for the car, and

renewable energy, as it would use the air flow to generate renewable power.

To accomplish this project, I will need to get a better understanding of aerodynamics

and fluid dynamics. This way I will understand how to make sure that the net gain of

the device outweighs the net loss. That would make the device at least somewhat

productive. Following this, I would have to create a 2-D representation of the device,

that has accounted for all the dimensions of the device and the car that it is being

mounted on. Next, I will need to verify the calculations made by the device. The

design would have to include some spinning mechanism, that would be powered by

the airflow.
Review of Skills and Research

1. Research

The first thing I will need to do is research the feasibility of my original work, I

must find out the amount of knowledge and specialized expertise that is required

for this project. This will help me determine the following:

Will I be able to even take on this project?

How long will it take, realistically?
What will my time frame look like?
How do I test my idea?
2. Testing Concept

Doing research is one thing, but testing the concept myself would help me get

an understanding of the scope of the project. To test it I would be using a DC

motor, a Propeller and a Voltage Meter. I tested to see how much energy the DC

motor would produce by driving around at different speeds while checking the

Voltage Meter.
Methodology

1. Finding Software

I would need to find a software to use and create a 3D representation of my idea.

Through my interviews, I was introduced to different software such as

SolidWorks, Pro Engineer, and Auto CAD. Among these, I settled on utilizing

SolidWorks because it was more available to me.

2. Learning Software

I had to learn about how to use the software and I did this by following an online

tutorial series which covered the various features and sketch techniques that

would help in designing my original work.

3. Creating Design

Utilize the skills I learned from watching the SolidWorks tutorial series to create

an initial rendering of the spoiler-turbine. This rendering will be used to have an

initial an understanding of the layout of the product. None of the sides and

components will be defined.

4. Finalizing Design

After having a layout that I am happy with I will need to go back and adjust the

layout to suit the physics that will be applied to the spoiler-turbine. In this step I

will have to account for variable principles in fluid dynamics

5. Assembling
 I must take my finalized design and 3D print many of my original shapes and

configurations. After printing I will have to put it together and account for any

variables that will result in anything I might have overlooked.

6. Testing

During this phase, I will be testing to see if the assembled spoiler-turbine would

function in the real world. I will be conducing Static tests, utilizing an air

compressor, which will basically be like putting the product inside a wind tunnel.

Materials

Material Description Cost

SolidWorks: The software I am using to design my Original Work. I

was able to get the software from my brother. $0

3D Printer I will be using this to develop a physical model for my

product. When talking to my mentor, he thinks we might $0.33-

be able to get it done at one of his labs. But if not we $1.32

have to get the parts done elsewhere. per

cubic

inch
Air Will be using this test my final product and to see how it

Compresso functions in real world scenarios. $99 -

r $200
Voltage Will be using this to determine how much energy is

Meter being harvested by the spoiler-turbine. I already own $0

one of these
Conclusions

Through this project, I hope to gain a better understanding of aerodynamics of a

motor vehicle as well as an understanding of utilizing renewable energy sources

within the process. By the time of Final Presentation Night, I want to be able have a

tangible product that works on a motor vehicle, capturing and sending the energy it

catches into a battery within the trunk. This idea I believe would be a good platform

to start further research into getting vehicles to depend on alternatives to fossil

fuels. I would become more exposed to research, ideas and thinking in both these

fields and apply the idea into future projects and pursuits into either field It satisfies

the requirement of the original work as the idea is something that I came up with

myself. I got the idea after a bird pooped on my car and a few hours later the rain

had washed it off for me. It got me thinking of other forces a vehicle might face that

can also be used to aid it. Since a vehicle is so often exposed to wind, I wondered

why dont we just harvest airflow on a moving vehicle. Also, this idea requires

various principles of engineering, which I have to apply in order to get it work

effectively, thus it does demonstrate what I learned through the field. Furthermore,

it something I find myself really interested in. Therefore, the idea meets all

requirement for the original work.

 Timeline

03/22 Have Original Rendering Complete

04/07 Have Correct Dimensions for the Design

04/14 - Have Product Ready to 3D Print

04/21 Have Product Fully Assembled

04/28 - Have Testing Complete