Overview of Project Context
This project is one of a three pronged approach by SPAWAR to address rainwater runoff into the bay. The drifter simulates the characteristics of a particulate sinking in water and allows an analysis of where the particulates are being deposited.
Project Objectives
High Priority Objectives
Pressure case must survive being under at 18.5 meters for up to three days
Capable of lowering the drifter at 0.1 to 10 mm/s
Winch speed must be easily changeable by a technician
Winch must be able to lower drifter to 18.5 meters
Winch must be able to retract the drifter to the surface (ask about timeframe)
Second Priority Objectives
Drifter should be able to detect the floor of the bay (echo locator)
Drifter should have auxiliary ports for addition sensors
Buoy should be able to detect when the drifter has risen back to sea level
Lower the drag of the wire/cable
Other Constraints and Issues
Working within the Pacific Gyre Microstar structure (refer to document)
Financial constraint
WOW Design Solution
Incorporating all of the secondary objectives
Having rechargeable batteries to power the systems
Risk Reduction Objectives
To evaluate the suitability of rotary shaft seals as a method for keeping all electrical components sealed in a pressure case.
Intermediate Milestones
Individual Component Analysis Topics
Jebsen Man - Batteries and power regulation.
Thomas Mangano - Waterproofing and pressure case design.
Matthew Hawkins - Winching and level wind mechanical design.
Jonathan Lie - Materials research. His research will focus on choosing an ideal tether material.
Merlin Huang - Motor and gearbox research.
Weekly Meeting Time with sponsor:
Mondays at 5:30pm at Starbucks on Rosecrans in San Diego.