Tuesday, October 6, 2015

SMSSV Post 6 10/6

Within the past week I created a preliminary cad model of the suspension system for our team.  This is still preliminary in that there will need to be actuators and mounts incorporated into the design.  Once the cad modeling has been completed, we will conduct FEA analysis on the components to determine if there will be any weaknesses within the design.  In addition we will learn the functional specifications of the system in order to start researching parts.




Monday, September 21, 2015

SMSSV Post 5 9/21

Since my last blog post I have done more research on active development systems that are being currently used.  Unfortunately there are not a significant amount that would work efficiently in the bogie system design, however I did find an intriguing video that shows extremely rapid linear actuation that we believe would provide what is needed to keep the pod car level with the ground.  Here is the link to the video. Using a combination of linear actuation with suspension dampening would provide a comfortable and level ride for spartan superway riders. We are continuing to finsih developing a general idea for the entire system and plan on having our plan finalized by next week.

Monday, September 14, 2015

SMSSV blog post 4

Below is a sketch of a preliminary design for the suspension system that I created.  It focuses on having a centralized pivot point connected to the bogie, a vertical damper, and diagonal actuators with dampers/shocks.  This design can take care of vertical and horizontal vibrations and movements of the railway. Like all designs this will likely change once team members provide input on each others designs.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

SMSSV Post 3

Now that our project is officially starting I have been looking into suspension systems for the bogie design.  Starting off with just the basics of car suspensions I plan on using what I learn from these resources to help develop a system that will suit the needs of the Superway.  What i have learned so far is that the suspension system for this  application will not be a simple as a couple coil over shocks as we need to have three degrees of freedom for the passengers to have a level and comfortable ride in the pod cars.  With elevation changes in the bogie track system, there is a need for a pivoting suspension system  which makes this project more challenging to keep the podcar level.  Using some diagrams from ME147 I plan on working with the team to base our design off of something similar to this design below.

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/tylerbroder/media/image.jpg1_zpshslz5uyt.jpg.html

http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag325/tylerbroder/image.jpg1_zpshslz5uyt.jpg

SMSSV post 2

At our last meeting on wednesday I made a lot of progress with becoming more familiar with the project in addition to taking on the leadership role of Team lead for the Full scale model.  Since that time I have been working closely with David, Dr. Furman, and others to determine the goals for this years project.  We have been looking at creating deliverables for next class that will help form the teams that everyone will be on for the next year.  In addition to my leadership position I have also been brainstorming for the suspension system for the boggie by doing some research on current suspension systems in use throughout different platforms.

Spartan Superway Introduction

Hi everyone my name is tyler and I'm a senior mechanical engineering major with a focus in mechanical design at SJSU.  I am a car/motorcycle enthusiast and have always had an interest in transportation as long as it has a motor, which is what drew me closer to becoming a member of the Spartan Superway project.  Being a part of a team that is focusing on the future of public transportaion fascinated me as there currently are no automated transit networks as sophisticated as the current project at SJSU.  I look forward to bringing my engineering and leadership skills to the project and hopefully creating some new work that will gain the interest of others in the transportation field along with the public.  This next year will be a challenge for myself and the rest of the team, but we all know it will be very rewarding.