AEAC 2025 Design Sprint

Owned by Alison Thompson, created
Last updated: 2024-09-23 by Evan Janakievski
4 min read

 

Big Project

Project

Project Manager

Big Project

Project

Project Manager

Comp 2025 drone

Payload

@Alison Thompson

Task Description

Add an entry with your ideas for how we should solve this year’s challenge! This can be sketches, notes, links, pictures, or anything else!

Entries

Author: @Conall Kingshott Date: 2024/09/21

Initial Ideation

Initial research on pumps seems to show that pumps on the scale we can fit in the payload have insufficient flow rate for our use-case. A custom peristaltic pump with servo power and multiple parallel flows could be worth investigating, but my designer’s instinct is that there is a reason they all have such low flow rates.
https://www.amazon.ca/Peristaltic-Miniature-Laboratory-self-Priming-Circulation/dp/B09Q5WJN4G/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VG9Y0WEHhaXVtS3K-MXYnEsnWG6OeGZcfSWnuD30EwvMRbh4pxMgHWoHLVV_zGK1o8bDUrlT5N6sOFfHh6wjOWPwEw8140mt5c07XRblZlW0QeoOTUkEGISeKxIAyBV0wFpytbHJtON0vBUeZXmeOKvCELQ_cAVp7ibuFv4RXVe2OVwO4gqI6ss9st7hkkAuxLIndd9cY2JB82jZ1bS6-7qTqEbtUWSXcKINkz8_Q8KspSnT-PlwK0KZVg-L1pnBqMpV5kEV2rSuI89JeU7cyj0ZWDBoiUy3q8cf92yY-YI.qcPDHdAY0D8wd0Ex-YK-TZX0hiV5gLAj6tX3m1bmW3A&dib_tag=se&keywords=peristaltic+pump&qid=1726932412&sr=8-6

As far as designing the payload without a pump, I believe designs with a hinged flap will struggle to be water-tight because you will need such a strong force to keep the flap closed with a long moment arm. The first design I’ve sketched out would be a cone in 3D with a top and bottom plate with some kind of o-ring or gasket. The red stage in this sketch is stationary. The payload is submerged in water in the first image. Air can escape out the top as it fills with water. Then, the black cone is moved upwards, creating a seal on the top and bottom. Then the black cone is lowered again to release water. Ideally this can all be rigged up to be controlled by one servo.

image-20240921-153157.png

Below is a similar concept. It is less geometrically complex, but when you release the water, it will flow out at the edges.

image-20240921-153848.png




Author: @Alison Thompson Date: Sep 21, 2024

Potential idea:

  • Computer cooling water pump, high flow rate like: https://www.amazon.ca/Cooling-3000RPM-Integrated-Support-Intelligent/dp/B07PB1WJ6Z#

  • One in one out (if they can’t be run backwards)

  • Specification:

  • Material: Acrylic + ABS

  • Model: PU-FS4-J

  • Rated current: 0.7A

  • Rated function: 8W

  • Pump head: 4 meters

  • Pump : 800L/H

  • Starting voltage: 7V

  • The highest voltage: 13.5V

  • No-load speed: 5000RPM

  • Load speed: 3000RPM

  • Size: Approx. 5.5 * 6.4 * 6.4 cm/ 2.2 * 2.5 * 2.5 in

  • Weight: about 285 g

 

 

 

 

Author: @Smile Khatri Date: Sep 21, 2024

  • Using a pump would make manufacturing and assembly the easiest. Reduces complexity. Trying to submerge anything in water, especially if it is large and has quite a bit of surface area might be tricky.

  • Stealing Alison’s idea but diff. pump

  • Material: Plastic

  • Weight: 160 g

  • Voltage = 12V

  • Max pump head = 3 m

  • Type: submersible

    • Mount the pump to a rigid tube, and submerge it. A plastic tube can be connected at the outlet

  • Max flow rate = 240 L/h

    • this is equal to 4L/min

    • Total weight of Peggy 2 w/ batteries is 7350g. We agreed on a max take off weight of 12 kg 2024-09-18 Comp Arch Sync - Meetings - WARG (atlassian.net). This leaves us with 4.65 kg for water + storage + pump system.

    • If we limit max water capacity to 4kg, this would be about 4 L of water taking water density = 1000 kg/m^3. Ideally, it would take 1 minute to pump this much water which is a major drawback of this option. Depends on what time we are willing to accept. In my opinion, anywhere up to 15s is ideal a minute might be too much…

  • Could use a pump to expel the water from the tank but we can also just let gravity take care of this to maximize the mass of water the drone can carry. Will have to do maths to determine the flow rate .

 

 

 

 

Author: @Evan Janakievski Date: Sep 23, 2024

  • Two options that I could think of, and they both have been listed above. Helibucket or a pump.

  • For the bucket, there would be a worry about tangling the line or reeling in to make sure it is not dragging on the ground at lower altitudes.

  • For the pump, the mass of the pump needs to be taken into account as well as the volume that it could hold