Team Formation and Blog Assignment #2

The following is a list of project topics and preliminary design requirements under consideration for the Sustainable Mobility System for Silicon Valley (a.k.a., Spartan Superway or SMSSV 4) for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Teams will organize during class on September 9, select a project, identify a team lead, then prepare a proposal for that project at a private PAGE on the team lead's blog, then publish that blog (without an external link) and email the private link to Professor Furman for review by the Spartan Superway Management Team by 5:30 PM, Monday, September 14, 2015.  (See example private page here.)

Proposals will include the following:

• Team members, with brief listing of pertinent skills
• Team member responsibilities within the team (who will do what)
• Proposal narrative (verbal description of what is proposed to be accomplished, which includes design requirements and deliverables)
• Sketches or drawings
• Critical Path Schedule
• Budget (preliminary estimate of the cash and VIK – Value-In-Kind – needed to deliver what is being proposed)

Each team member will also post on their individual blog by the same time, a sketch or drawing of their own making, with explanation, of something relevant to their project.

Thank you!

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Bogie, suspension, guideway (in-plane load path and drive wheel)    

• Bogie must be able to traverse up and down a guideway sloped at ±17° (30% grade) at TBD m/s
• DELIVERABLE: Working model that demonstrates the concept       

Suspension: show sloped track to ground level, cabin integrated

• Suspension must keep cabin level in spite of 'disturbances' (sloped track, acceleration of TBD m/s^2, etc.)
• DELIVERABLE: Working model that demonstrates the concept

Propulsion at constant speed, regenerative braking, friction braking   

• Bogie must start and stop smoothly (jerk of less than 1.8 m/s^3)
• Bogie must move at a constant speed in spite of 'disturbances'
• Bogie or propulsion system must use regenerative braking to recover energy
• Bogie must incorporate friction braking in case propulsion motor 'free wheels'
• DELIVERABLE: Working model that demonstrates the concept
• DELIVERABLE: Measurements of speed variation at disturbances
• DELIVERABLE: Measurements of regenerative efficiency 

Fail-safe mechanism   

• Bogie cannot fall off the guideway despite failure of switching or main support wheels
• DELIVERABLE: Working model that demonstrates the concept 

Electric wayside pickup (large scale, small scale)   

• System power is obtained from stationary source in the guideway
• DELIVERABLE: Working model that demonstrates the concept 

Apparatus for guideway thermal test

• (Min) 3 m length, full-scale, 'full-strength' guideway elevated at TBD m
• Full solar PV installation
• Model must allow for 180° rotation in measurable increments
• Model must allow measurement of local temperatures and deflections
• DELIVERABLE: (Min) 3 m length, full-scale, 'full-strength' instrumented guideway test apparatus

Torsion test   

• TBD-scale model of full strength guideway that fits in the CEE torsion tester (60 in. max length)
• Instrumentation to measure deflection and strain
• Finite element model of the test specimen
• DELIVERABLE: Model of full strength guideway that fits in the CEE torsion tester
• DELIVERABLE: Data from torsion test
• DELIVERABLE: Correlation with and refinement of ANSYS finite element model
   

Small scale ATN model    

• Expand the scale model to include a total of TBD stations and TBD vehicles
• Use modular track sections of uniform dimensions to facilitate configuring a guideway network
• Guideway configuration to be suggestive of an actual siting in San José or other locale in Silicon Valley
• DELIVERABLE: Working model

Solar   

• Fully 'solarize' one or more of our model systems (fixed panel placement, inverters, etc.)
• Devise mounting techniques that are modular, manufacturable, and facilitate rapid on-site installation
• Develop a performance and cost analysis tool for planning actual deployment 
• DELIVERABLE: Implement working system on models

Other

• You may submit a proposal for something other than those listed above if you can identify a project that is important for the project and matches your skill sets well.