ConcordiaUniversity

TheUnofficialSteamCar
SurvivalGuide



Broughtyouby:



Team

Emissivity1
www.emissivity1.ca







Asimpleguide,withmanylessonslearned,toassistteamsinbuildingtheirowncar

Winter2016
TeamEmissivity1successwouldhavenotbeenpossiblewithoutsomeoutsidehelp.
Awarmthankyouissentouttothefollowingpeoplefortheirhelpandcontributionto
thisproject:
PeterSakaris
RobertOliver
RudiKrueger
VinceTheItalianStallionProcoprio
EricTheBigSlowRochefort
IanLlamas
AlexLaroche

Andoursponsor:
WilliamPuchot
www.w3d.ca








Theyusedtocallsteam,thehandofGod,becauseofthetremendousamountof
forceyoucangetfromit.Duringthecompetitionyouwillbecountingonthatsame
hand,topushyourcaroverthestartline

Introduction:
TheConcordiaUniversitySteamCarcompetitionisanannualoccurrence,
partoftheThermodynamicsIIcourse.Inthiscompetition,teamsdesign,build,test
andracetheirsteampoweredcarsforultimatevictory.Teamsaregivenaccessto
EDMLresources.Theracegenerallytakesplaceonthelastweekthesemester.
In2016,TeamEmissivity1,undertookthechallengetobuildawinningcar,
withtheobjectivetoobtainthebesttimefrom5to10meters.Thisobjectivewas
attained,andthepreviousrecord,heldbyTeamNonFrictionRomancewastrimmed
byafullsecond.TeamEmissivity1svehicle,theBlackBeauty,(alsoreferredtoas
theBlackWidow,bythecompetition)completedthesprintin5.0seconds.
Theroadtovictorywasntpavedwithsuccesses.Justlikeinanyengineering
project,thereweresetbacks,disagreements&failures.Intheend,theteam
perseveredtoattainvictory.
Afterthecompetition,allthelessonslearned,dosanddonotdos,were
compiledintothisguide,soyourteamhastheinformationtoavoidthesameissues.
Thisguidehasbeenbrokendowninto4sections,togiveyouanideawhattoexpect
throughoutthesemester,astheprojectevolves:
1. Design,Part&MaterialSelection
2. Assembly&Testing
3. Qualification
4. RaceDay

TeamEmissivity1andtheirsteamcar,BlackBeauty

DESIGN,PART&MATERIALSELECTION

TimeManagement
Thesteamcarprojectisnotsomethingwhichcanbecrammedintoan
overnightsessionbeforethedeadline.Itrequiresconstantworkthroughoutthe
semester.Thedesignandcomponentselectionofthesteamcarshouldbedoneat
thebeginningofthesemester.Therearenumerousreasonsforthis
1. Thestudentworkloadislow
2. Parts(likebearingsandshafts)canbeorderedcheaplyfromChinese
suppliers,andtheirdeliverywillbeassured
3. Designproblemscanbeidentifiedandsolved,asthereisampleamountof
timeavailable.

TheReport
AllthereportrequirementsarestatedontheMoodlepage.Certainteamsfind
ithardtowritethereport.Thereasonissimple.Whenyouhavenoworktopresent,
itishardtowriteaboutnothing.Withthatinmind,anyresearchortestingshouldbe
notedandpresented.Thebenefitwillbetwofold:first,youwillhavemoretowrite,
andsecond,youwillbeabletoreflectonandgrowfromyourcognitiveprocesses
throughoutthesteamcarproject.
Presentallyourfindings,conceptideas,projectbudget,partsordered,
reasoningandengineeringjudgement.Thetechnicaldrawingsdonothavetobe
yourfinaldrawings.Theyjustserveasyourprototypedrawings,toshowyour
supervisorinwhichdirectionyou'reheaded.Asalways,followalltechnicaldrawing
conventions.Presentationiskey.Asloppyreportusuallyreceivesasloppygrade.
Thinkofitasaprofessionalreportyourwouldbesubmittingtoaprojectsupervisor,
intheindustry.Itneedstobeclear,wellstructured,neatwithyourengineering
opinion,presentedprofessionally.

Teamwork
Innovationdoesnothappeninavacuum:itisveryimportanttoworkasa
team,butalsowithotherteams!TeamEmissivity1ssuccesswasonlymade
possiblebyworkingwith2otherteams,TheyseemeSteaminandMeterto
Salvation.Ideasandproblemsweresharedandsolvedcollectively,and
componentsandtoolswerepooledtogether.Ultimately,students(andprofessionals)
mustbandtogetherandhelpeachotheryouneverknowwhenthefavourwillbe
returned.Trytoavoidthefollowingscenario.

Intelligence&Information
Thisguideisfulloflessonslearnedfrompastyearsoffailuresandsuccessso
yourteamcanlearnfromthesemistakes.Itwouldbeaworthyinvestmenttolookat
pastprojectstoconfirmbigideasandquestionswhichariseduringthebrainstorming
process.Yourbestresourceisthelaboratorystaff,specificallyPeterSakaris,Robert
OliverandRudiKrueger.Theyareagoldmineofknowledgeandtheyhaveseen
numeroussteamcarcompetitions.Theyknowwhatworksandwhatdoesntwork.
Anothervaluablesourceofinformationispreviouswinningteams,orany
teamwhichhascompletedtheracesuccessfully.Ourteaminterviewedthe
previousyearswinningteam,analyzedtheirdesign,andwentwithourown.Be
wearyofdesignswhichdontwork.Manyteamsbasetheirconceptsonfailed
designs.Faileddesignsarethosedesignwhichshouldbeavoided,notmimicked.
Yourebetterofftryingtobuildyourowncar,thentoreverseengineerapast
yearsprojectandtrytomakeitwork.Itconsumesmoretime,anditisa
frustratingexperience.Itusuallyendsinfailure.

Dont try to reinvent a broken wheel

DesigningwithCADSoftware
Todesignthecar,computeraideddesign,CAD,softwareuseismandatory.
ForthoseofyouwhohaventyetgottenfamiliarwithCADsoftware,thisprojectwill
beanexcellentplacetolearn.Nottomention,CADsoftware,willbeusedin
numerousothercoursessuchasMECH313,311,390,theCapstoneProjectandfor
theremainderofyourengineeringcareer.
ThemostcommonsoftwareusedisSolidWorks.Itisavailableincertain
computerlabs.DSSolidWorksisaveryfunctionalsoftware,withmanybuiltin
features.TolearntouseSW,thereisanapproximate2030hourlearningcurve.
TutorialsbuiltintoSWareverystraightforwardandeasytofollow.Followingthe
tutorialsexplainshowthesoftwarethinksandworks.Onceyou'reproficientenough
withSW,onlythenyoushouldbegintodesignyourcar.
Tip1:Atthebeginningoftheproject,establishifyouwilluseMETRICorIMPERIALunit
systems.
Tip2:WhenCADingcomponents,havearulerhandy.Manypeoplelossperceptionofthe
component,assmallcomponentsappearextrabigonthemonitor.Thisway,youcanlookat
yourrulerandtellyourself,thetrussistoothinorthick,orisitarealisticdesign.
Tip3:CADdrawingsofcomponentslikebearings,areavailableonlineonsiteslike
McMasterorBocaBearings.Thiscanhelpyouwithyourassemblydrawings.

AnassemblysnapshotofthefirstprototypecarourteamdesignedusingSW

DesignGoals
Thedesignofeachteamscarisindividualandunique.Yourtaskisto
inventanewcartomeetcertainparameters.Thismeans,thereisNOSOLUTION
manual.YourENGINEERINGJUDGEMENTwillbeexercised.Duringtheproject
yourteamwillhavetodecidewhichsolutionsyouwillimplement.ThereisnoRIGHT
orWRONGanswer.JustwhatWORKSandwhatDOESNTWORK.Keepthisin
mind.Asidefromthecompetitiongoalofspeed,yoursteamcarshouldbedesigned
withthefollowinggoalsinmind

1) ReliabilityandRepairability:Thecarshouldperformreliably,withoutany
interventionoftheteam.
a) Thecarneedstooperateinlessthanidealsituations,asin,itis
forgivinginthesetup.Minutedeviationswonthamperitsoperation.
Manydesignswereextremelyfinicky,andthesmallestdeviationwould
haltthecar.
b) Designthevehicleforeaseofmaintenance,orifcomponentsbreak,
theycanbeswappedquicklyforaspareones,orfixedwithease.
Manyteamshadverydelicatecriticalcomponents,whichbroke,and
theyhadnospares,whichhaltedtheprojectuntilanewpartwas
procured.

Whencoilspringsfail.

2) Survivability:Thecarshouldbeabletosurvivenumeroustests,manhandling
bytheoperators,andabovealltheheatfromtheburningpellet.
a) Designcomponentswhichcantakesomewearandtear.Ifitsa
delicatecomponent,oddsareitwillbreakduringassemblyortesting.
b) Selectappropriatematerialswhichmaintaintheirstrengthandrigidity,
especiallyiftheyareexposedtoextremeheat.



 3) Feasibility:Justbecauseyoucandesignit,doesitmeanyoucanmakeit?
Thisaspectwasthebiggestissuewithmanyteamsinpastyears.Designs
weretoocomplexorunfeasible.Whendesigningyourcar,andits
components,askyourselfthefollowingquestions:
a) Canitbemanufactured?
i) CantheEDMLeasilyproduceyourcomponent?
ii) While3Dprintersoffernewcapabilities,theyarenotmiracle
workers.Whendesigningpartsfor3Dprinting,consider,how
willtheprinterprintit.
iii) Considerthetoleranceofthe3Dprinteritself.Justbecauseyou
specifieda5mmdiameterthruhole,doesntmeanyouwillgetit
whenitsprinted.
Example:Mostofourspecifiedthruholes,wouldafterwards
needtobedrilledouttofitcomponentslikeshaftsorbearings.
Thisbeingsaid,iteasiertoremovematerial,thentoaddit.

b) Canthecomponentseasilyfittogether?Howwilltheybondtogether?
Screws?Adhesives?PressFit?

c) Willthecomponentsfittogetherduringassembly?Notjustdimension
wise,butcanyouactuallyplacethegivencomponentintoposition?

Example:duringtheassemblyoftheBlackBeauty,ourcompactdesign
requiredtheassemblyoftheturbine,shaft,gearboxandbearingsina
verylimitedworkspaceofthevehiclechassis.Itwaspossiblebut
extremelytrickyandrequiredskillfulhands.


4) Flexibility:Isyourdesigncapableofaccommodatingotherimprovementsor
modifications?Willthesmallestdesignchangerequireanentireoverhaulof
thevehicle?
Example:MetertoSalvationssteamcar,wasabigandsimpledesign,butit
allowedmanymodifications.Itcouldaccommodatedifferentturbinedesigns
ordifferentgearratioswithlittleornochangetothevehiclechassisitself.
Example:TheySeemeSteaminsteamcarwasverymodular.Components
couldbeswappedouttofitothercomponents.

Example:Oursteamcarwasnotaflexibledesign.Changinganyparameter
requiretheentirechassistobereprinted.Itwasatradeoffthatourteam
accepted,aswehadaccessto3Dprinting,inthankstooursponsor,Williams
Hub(www.w3d.ca).Intheend,2frameswereprintedandassembled.The
firstframeidentifiedissues,whichwouldberesolvedinthesecondframe.

Thefirstandsecondframeofoursteamcar.

DesignParameters

1. Theweightexertedbythesteam//compressedairisapproximately1.2grams
ofpushweightonthebladesurface
2. Theboiler,burnerandpelletweightapproximately,with100mlofwateris265
grams.
3. Ittakes2minutesforthepellettoboilthewater
4. Thepelletcanprovideasolidrollingboilfor23minutesbeforethesteam
pressurebeginstodropsignificantly.
5. Thepelletdoesnotboiltheentiretyofthewater,itdoesntevencomeclose.
Donotexpectasignificantreductioninweightfromtheevaporatedwater.
6. Thesafetyvalvebeginstoreleasesteamifthepressureexceeds1015PSI.
Itisasimplespringsafetyvalve.
7. Coghlanscampingfueltabletsareused.Theyburnextremelyhotandclean.
8. Thefueltabletburnsatnearly900.

Theburner,boilerandfuelpellet.

ComponentSelection

Thepurchaseofbearingsandshaftsisvitaltotheproject.Bearingsarenota
necessity(dryfrictioncanwork)buttheyareeasytoworkwith.Significantcost
savingscanbeachievedifpartsareorderedfromChinesesuppliersaheadoftime.
Forexample,abearing,whichcansetyouback510$apiece,canbepurchasedin
packsof10for35$.Theonlytradeoffis36weekshippingperiod.
Steelshaftscanalsobepurchasedonlineinvariousdiametersandlengths.
Evenifyourdesigniffarfromfinalized,youcanalwaysworkyourdesignaroundthe
component.Asqualificationsapproach,manyteamsscrambletopurchase
expensivecomponents,whenasimple25bearingorderedinJanuarywould've
donethesame.JustcomparethepricefromMcMaster,RcBearings,orBocaBearing
tothepricesofAliExpressandeBay.Thelattertwoarehubsfullofstores,which
offerfreeshippinganddiscountedprices.Theonlydownistheshippingperiod.But
generally,partsarrivedin36weeks.

Tip1:ConsidertheChineseNewYear,itsignificantlyaddstotheshippingtime,soorder
before.ReadingweekisthelastminutecutofffororderingfromChina,forthecomponentto
arriveontimefortestingandqualification.
Tip2:WhenorderinganycriticalcomponentfromChinesesuppliers,orderinduplicatefrom
anotherstore,orwithotherteams.Whileitisrare,sometimespartsdon'tarrive,sofora
smallprice,itmightbebettertoassuresomeredundancy.
Tip3:Usingmetricsizedshaftsandbearingswasapleasantexperience.
Tip4:Yourebetterofhavingspareparts.Ifyourdesignhas4bearing,makesuretohave
spares,asnotallbearingsperformthesame.Somewillbebetterthanothers.
Tip5:Whenorderingshafts,bewareororderingshaftsubstitutes.Forexample,a304
StainlessSteelCapillaryTubeOD6mmx4mmIDor8mmDiax250mmshaftPolyamide
PAPlasticdidnothavethespecifieddimensionsandcouldnotbeusedwithanybearings.
Steelshaftswerethemostconsistentwiththeirspecifications.
Tip6:Using2mm,3mmor5mmdiametershaftsisideal.Higherdiametersbegintoget
excessive,andheavy.Theyalsorequire,biggerandheavierbearings.

TurbineDesign

Manyturbinestyleswhichcanbeemployed.Itispartofyourresearchto
determinewhichturbinedesignwillworkbest.Thisbeingsaid,thebiggestfactors
whichwilldeterminetheperformanceofyourturbinewillbe
1) Theturbinediameter
Smallturbinescanspinveryfast,buttheyaretorqueless.Biggerturbines,
whiletheyspinslower,theyprovideyouwithmoretorque.Aturbinewitha
diametergreaterthan90mmgivesexcellentresults.

2) Bladedesign
Itshardtodeterminethesignificanceofusingcomplexgeometriestotryto
maximisetheperformanceofaturbine.Thegoalistodesignabladewhere
thenozzlecanbebroughtascloseaspossibletominimizelosses.Thiscould
bedonetangentiallytotheturbineoratananglefromthesideoftheturbine.
Simpleflatbladescanjustaseffectiveascomplexdesign.Theyarealso
easiertomanufacture(3Dprint).Bladecountwillalsoplayafactor.

Ultimately,itwillbeacombinationofyourturbinediameter,bladedesign,
bladecount,andmostimportantlyyourgearratiowhichwilldeterminethepower
output.Justremember,theturbinespinsfastandtorqueless.Thegearratioiskeyto
createthetorquenecessarytoovercomethestaticequilibriumofyoursteamcar.
Thehigherthegearratio,themoretorquecanbedelivered.Duringourteams
experiments,a70:1gearratio,withour110mmturbine,wasabletopull500grams
beforeitstalled!Theexperimentwasdoneusingthecompressedair(thetestsetup)
andaspringpullgauge.Thereisanimmenseamountofpowertobeharnessed.

ChassisDesign

Numerousmaterialscanbeusedtodesignyourchassis.Balsawoodand
plexiglassareprovided.Yourchassiswillhavetosupporttheboilerandbeableto
survivetheextremeheatoftheburningpellet.Itneedstoberigid,andbeableto
stayrigid.Inmanycars,theheatcausescertainmaterialstorelaxordeflect,causing
thenozzletobedisplacedfromtheturbine,bringingthecartoahalt.With3D
printing,it'snowpossibletoprintanentirechassis.Itisfeasible,butextracare
needstobetaketoavoidheatissues.PLA,atypicalplasticusedin3Dprinting,
beginstosoftenatjust60.

Hint:Createasmallspacebetweentheburnerandyourvehicle.Thiswilldissipatetheheat
fromtheburnerframewithlittledamagetoyourcar.
FunFact:BlackBeautysentireframewasprintedasonepieceofPLAplastic.

ASSEMBLYANDTESTING

Whileitisfuntodesignacarandorderpartsforit,itisonlywhenyouactually
assembleit,willyoubeabletoidentifyanysignificantshortcominginyourdesign.
DonotwastetimewiththeCADsoftwarerunningsimulationsandtests.Geta
prototypeoutASAP,begintesting.Youmightonlyhavetimefor1majorredesignif
youroriginaldesignistotallyineffective.Thisiswhy,byMarch,yourvehicleshould
beintheassemblyandtestingphase.Thiswillgiveyouthetimetofixormodifyyour
car.Asthequalificationperiodapproaches,itbeginstogethecticintheassembly
area.Also,atthispoint,theendofthesemesterisapproaching,andthecoursework
beginstorestrainhowmuchtimeyouhaveavailable.Youhavebeenwarned.Thisis
wheremanyteamsbegintocrackunderthepressure.
Youhaveaccesstoskilledtechnicianswhocanoperatedrillpresses,lathes,
andanyotherequipmentnecessarytohelpwithyourcar.Thisbeingsaid,the
technicians,DONOTassembleyourcarforyou.Itisuptoyoutoaccomplishthis
task.Yourarenotrequiredtoassemblethecaratschool.Whoeverhastheirown
toolsandwishestodotheirownwork,youaremorethanwelcometoo.

Adremelrotarytoolisahandytohaveforthisproject


Theprecisionofyourwork,andyourdesignwilleithermakeorbreakyour
project.Alignmentofshaftsandgearsneedstobeperfect.Thesmallest
misalignmentsoncriticalcomponentswillsimplyhaltyourvehicle.Soworkslowly
butskilfully.Onceavehiclechassisisassembled,youwillonlythenbegiventhe
burnerframe.

RobertOlivercenterdrillingBlackBeautysturbineonthelathe.Thankstohishighlyskilled
work,ourturbinewasperfectlyaligned,withnocavitationorvibration.At1100rpm,the
operatingspeedoftheturbine,thelevelofprecisionmatters.

Lubricantscansignificantlyreducethefrictioninyourvehicle.Especiallywith
bearings.Bearingsaretypicallydesignedforheavyloadandlonglifeapplications.
Theinsideofbearingsaretypicallycoatedinheavygreasestoachievethis.Itis
recommendedyoursubmergethebearingsinadegreaser,fora24hourperiod,
rinseit,andapplyathinnerlubricant.Butbeforeyougetcarriedawaywith
lubricants,beware,asthecandissolvecertainmaterials.Especiallyplastics.Also,
lubricantsareaflammable.

TeamEmissivity1member,RyanBondyra,carefullyassemblingandlubricatingthesteam
car.


Afteryoucarisassembled,andallcomponentsspineffortlessly,onlythen
youshouldbeginfindingthesweetspotforthenozzle.Usingthecompressedair
gun,setittoapproximately5PSI.Thissimulatestheairyouwillreceiveafterallthe
lossesinthesystem(boiler,hose,etc).Donotuse10PSIforthispurpose,you're
justwastingyourtime.Ifyourturbinecanbarelymovethecarat10PSIorhigher,it
wontmoveatalowerpressure.Oncethesweetspotisfound,atechniciancan
assistyouinbendingatubetofittoyourpreferedangle.
Onceyourtubeisbent,practicewiththequalificationassembly,thatisburner
frame,boiler(withsteelpelletsforweight).Onlyatthispointshouldyouincreasethe
pressureto10PSIonthecompressor,asthiswillbethequalificationsetup.Donot
overtightenthenutforyourtube,asitwillsquashtheOringintheboiler,cuttingof
theairflow.Repeatthetestuntilyourcarmovesateverytry.Justbecauseitworks
once,doesntmeanitwillworkagain.Itisatthisstagethatyoucouldidentifyany
problems,andapplyquickfixes.RememberMurphysLaw.

Forthosewhowishtotakeittothenextlevel,certaintoolscanhelpyouin
yourtesting.Alasertachometer,opticaltemperaturereader,smallweightscalesand
springgaugesarenecessarytools.Someofthesetools,canbeprocuredfromeBay
andAliEXpress,verycheaply.Ourteamwasabletogetaccesstootherlabsinthe
universitytoconductextensiveheattesting.Ultimately,gettingrealresults,withreal
numberswillallowyoutoidentifyandsolveproblems.

Tip:Ifyoudonthaveaccesstoacompressorfortestingoutsideofschool,thereisasimple
waytotestyourvehicle.Youcansimulatethecompressorbysimplyexhalingcalmlythrough
astraw(NOThuffingandpuffing).

 Belowissomeofourexperimentaldata.Thefirstframewassubjectedaheat
stresstests.Threethermocoupleswereplacedat3criticalspots,todeterminethe
maximumtemperatureourframe(Temp.Plate)wouldreach.Creatinganairgapof
approximatelyinchbetweentheburnerandtheframe,wasmorethanadequate
astemperatureneversurpassedtheglasstransitiontemperatureofPLA.

Tip:UseAluminumfoiltoshieldanycomponentwhichwillbeexposedtohightemperatures.

QUALIFICATIONDAY

Atthispointyourvehicleshouldbefullyoperational.Youhaveexactly15
minutestoprovetothejudges,yourcarisabletocrossadistanceof1m,without
anyintervention.Thereisnotimeorassistancefromthetechniciansinbuilding,
assemblingorfixingthecaratthispoint.Thisisnotthetimetohaveyournozzle
bent.
Arriveontime,installthenozzleontheboiler.Dontovertightenthenutasair
flowwillbeseverelyrestricted.Installtheboileronyourvehicleframe.Confirmyour
nozzleishittingthesweetspotoftheturbine.Calloverthejudgewhenyourare
ready.Releasethecompressedair,andwatchyourhardworkpayoff.Youhavean
unlimitedsupplyofairforthequalification.
Ifthevehiclefailstomoverightaway,begintroubleshooting.Quickly.You
don'thavemuchtime.Itisadvisabletohavesometoolsonhandtosolveminor
issues.
Ifyoufailtoqualifythefirstround,thereisasecondround.Youhaveaweek
tosolveallvehiclesproblems.Inthesecondqualificationroundisonly10minutes
long.
Whenyouqualify,yourvehiclewillbetakenawayfromyouuntilthe
competition.Thereforeallworkneedstobecompletedbythequalifier.

RACEDAY

Earlymorning,youwillhaveaccesstoyourvehicle.Youwillreceivesome
lockwire,aboilerfilledwithroomtemperaturewater.Dosomefinaltestingof
bearingsandshaftsonyourcar.Installtheboilerandanyheatshieldingyouwish.
Thisisit!Raceday!

TheRaceDaySetup
CONCLUSION

TheSteamCarCompetitionisafunlittleproject.Thisguideisheretogive
youanideaanddirectionofwhattoexpect,andtodispelanyrumorsyouprobably
haveheard.Dontbeafraidtobecreativewithyourcarandthisprojectingeneral.
Exerciseyourengineeringjudgement.Workasateam,workwithotherteams.This
guidehasalltheinformationneededtosuccessfullybuildagoodsteamcar.Usethis
informationwisely.Itwillsaveyoutimeandmoney,especiallywhenthepressure
mountstomeetandexceedtherecord.Putthetimeintoit,especiallyatthe
beginningofthesemester.Thiswillsaveyoualotofhassleattheend,freeingyou
uptostudyordealwithotherprojects.

GoodLuck!
ThisisyourchancetobeimmortalizedforeverintheConcordiaHallofFame!