Since our last post, the Concrete Canoe Team presented the alternative design presentation as well as completed the quarterly report for the project. A lot of progress has been made in both the mix and hull design, but this post will focus primarily on the Hull design analysis process.
A second model of the proposed design was created using Freeship having the geometric characteristics that the team desired. The design possesses a 19 foot length and a 30 inch width at its widest point in the center of the canoe. The cross section features a round bottom with straight sides and virtually no rocker. Although the design might not be as hydrostatically efficient as other canoes, the constructability of this particular shape for the team will be relatively easier when creating and shaping the mold in the near future.
Using the software will ultimately allow us to pull the geometry of the canoe design from the results and use it in our structural analysis. The structural analysis is the next step for this group, which will be done using the shape of the cross section, thickness of the walls, the point loads of the riders, and the weight of the mix design for the canoe. The total force acting into the water will be used to find the total buoyancy force required against the canoe. From this, the freeboard of the canoe will be calculated and depending on the result, the mix and/ or hull design will need to be altered to create a design with the appropriate freeboard.
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