After a series of setbacks, a team of University of Alabama students took first prize in the unmanned division at the recent Promoting Electric Propulsion 2024 competition in Virginia Beach. Sponsored by the American Society of Naval Engineers, the event brought together more than 200 engineering students from 34 universities to compete against the clock with their vessels that must travel five miles on battery power in uncertain conditions.
Reid Leger, Nick Pounders and Richard Brigstocke traveled to the competition with their project, the Flying Dutchman, which was the culmination of their senior design project. Although this was the first University of Alabama team to participate, they beat teams from elite schools with a long history of competition.
helpless energy
“We had people ranging from construction experience, automotive industry, to true CAD specialists,” said Leger, who served as team leader. Even more than winning, she said, showing the team’s art to other student teams was the highlight of the weekend.
With no prior experience in the event and no team members who had built boats or electric propulsion systems, team members started with modest hopes.
“Originally our goal was to just show up with a boat and qualify for the race,” Brigstocke said. “However, as we qualified at each stage of the event, our goal became higher and higher.”
Pounders completed the racing team and helped with the design and manufacturing of the helmet. Despite having a job and an internship, he was dependable and brought a consistently optimistic mindset to the job, according to his teammates.
“I tried to bring a positive atmosphere to the team,” Pounders said. “I wanted to be a great teammate and help everyone enjoy our time even when things got stressful.”
Engineering Resilience
Things got stressful. Early design and manufacturing challenges with the original fiberglass hull left the team without a functional boat less than two months before the competition. Brigstocke took advantage of his spring break to completely redesign the hull and customize it to the conditions the boat would face on race day. Even before their boat hit the water, they were racing against the clock to build, test and troubleshoot the backup design.
The senior design course students chose their project from several proposed ones at the beginning of the fall semester, said Dr. Nima Mahmoodi, associate professor of mechanical engineering and senior design faculty advisor for the team. She praised the team’s tenacity and Léger’s leadership.
“The team was determined to finish the boat and attend the competition for the experience,” he said. “From a technical point of view, they made two parallel powertrain systems that could compensate for any problems with each other. Additionally, they considered safety factors to use better motors and cooling systems to be prepared for any unexpected force or heat in the system.”
Brigstocke and Pounders also praised Leger’s work as a team leader.
“Reid was instrumental in bringing the team together, ensuring we were on schedule, and completing all the tangible items required,” Brigstocke said. “He was one of the few who never gave up.”
As the team members progressed through the first heats, they began to get excited. Their initial goal of assisting with a qualifying boat gave way to a goal of finishing in the top half of the field, then the top five, and finally a spot on the podium.
Do more with less
“You can’t imagine how excited we were after our race when we realized we were in the fight for the podium. And then our absolute delight in knowing that we had actually won it,” Brigstocke said.
Team members attribute their success largely to moderation. Thanks to early design flaws, they avoided specific mechanics and unnecessarily complicated parts.
“We focused on mechanics that were proven winners and just built them the best we could,” Leger said. “Ultimately, focusing on building the most efficient, endurance-based boat allowed us to have the best of both worlds and come out on top.”
This story originally appeared on the University of Alabama website.
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