Put your thinking caps on

[xxjoeyxxeb]

Hey guys,

I am taking a Turbomachinery class this quarter and we have a contest in 10 weeks to design a turbomachine to pull a can of corn across the ground and the fastest machine to do it wins. It is water powered.

 

Some Design criteria:

-5 gal water capacity

-Water surface is 4' 3" from ground

-A string is hooked up to a pulley or whatever that is attached to the wheel powered by the water

 

I think it would be best to have a wide tank at the top to keep the potential energy of the water as high as possible

 

Need to find out how to design the most efficient nozzle producing a ton of thrust and velocity. Cool site is below

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/ienzl.html

 

A Pelton wheel design seems to be popular, but what other setups might be more efficient?

 

I think ball bearings holding the shaft is key

 

Press fit, or a set screw to hold wheel and pulley together.

 

Maybe the pully that is pulling the string can taper so it starts winding up easily then increases...

 

Any ideas on turbine wheels, pelton wheels, or other designs? Any brainstorming would be great! I wanna win $100!!!