Arizona State University - Lower Unit Redesign Team

(Grand Canyon Project)

Our team is from the College of Technology and Innovation at Arizona State University Polytechnic. We have been contracted by the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association (GCROA) to design and manufacture the lower-end of an electric motor system, which will hopefully replace the use of fossil fuels in the future. Wanting to convert the current gasoline engines to an electric drive system provides us with the opportunity to redesign the lower-end. Working in conjunction with the University of Utah these new propulsion units will be designed to have an exceptional ability to withstand the unique river conditions of the Grand Canyon that can not be found in any off the shelf solution. The University of Utah is designing the power source for the propulsion unit, which our lower-end will be designed to adapt to and have to prove functional in order to gain consideration for future use.

By not using a gasoline engine we are able to simplify the lower-end tremendously, removing many unnecessary parts which will no longer be needed by using an electric motor. The outfitters can benefit from a redesigned lower-end suitable for an electric drive system because we are also able to address various weaknesses and failures the outfitters encounter on the river. These weaknesses were brought to our attention by receiving feedback from outfitters through surveys we created and having one on one interaction with some others. The points in question on the current design include failure to shafts, propellers, water pumps, and woodruff keys just to mention a few.

The main aspects of our new design are those in which can directly benefit the outfitters. These aspects include but are not limited to low required maintenance, able to better withstand lower-end impacts, an easily assembled and disassembled unit with fewer parts, and easy reparability both on the river and in the shop with minimal tools required. Based on the criteria gathered from the outfitters along with our own benchmarking, this new motor design will need to be affordable, durable, and fully functional with respect to the current lower-end being used all while remaining environmentally friendly and emitting as little noise as possible.

We have been and will continue to explore all possibilities for the design as well as work in close collaboration with the University of Utah and our customers at GCROA. By January we will have a fully modeled and analyzed design we feel will best meet all the outfitters needs. From there we will move to the manufacturing aspect of the design where we will manufacture, construct, and test our design. We have every intention of having a fully functional prototype to test on the Colorado River at the final design review in May 2010.

 

Mid-Project Report

Mid-Project Presentation