Manufacturing processes of composite materials for a human-powered submarine

Author

Maisano, A.J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mater. Sci. & Eng., Virginia Polytech. Inst. & State Univ., Blacksburg, VA, USA

Volume

5

fYear

2003

fDate

22-26 Sept. 2003

Firstpage

2678

Abstract

Human-powered submarines are controllable underwater vehicles, which are designed and built to achieve maximum speed over a 100-meter course. Manufacturing the submarine as close to neutrally buoyant as possible has become a priority for competing teams. As human-powered submarines have decreased in volume to minimize mass, the insertion of buoyant materials during the manufacturing process has taken on a new importance. The most advanced submarine designs utilize several techniques to achieve a strong, yet lightweight structure. Strategic placement of buoyant materials during composite manufacturing has several advantages that are beneficial to the performance of the submarine. This paper describes the techniques used by the Human-Powered Submarine Team of Virginia Tech in the construction of Phantom 4.

Keywords

composite materials; oceanographic equipment; underwater vehicles; Phantom 4; buoyant materials; composite manufacturing technique; composite materials; controllable underwater vehicles; human-powered submarine; lightweight structure; maximum speed; neutral buoyancy; neutrally buoyant vessel; propeller-driven submarine; strength-to-weight ratio; submarine performance; Automotive engineering; Composite materials; Epoxy resins; Humans; Imaging phantoms; Lightweight structures; Manufacturing processes; Materials science and technology; Propulsion; Underwater vehicles;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

OCEANS 2003. Proceedings

Conference_Location

San Diego, CA, USA

Print_ISBN

0-933957-30-0

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/OCEANS.2003.1283007

Filename

1283007