E - STEM Principles

STEM Principle 1: Magnet Repellent

The connection to the project problem: We need to know how magnets continually attract and repel each other in order to make sure our turbine is continuously spinning. 

Relation to design specifications: This will help us understand how the magnets alternate currents to ensure they keep spinning without stalling. It will also increase our efficiency because energy won't be expended making the magnets spin. 

STEM Principle 2: Gear Ratios & Transmission

The connection to the project: Transmission science ensures efficiency of the engine so that less power will be used. To start and maintain a running engine, we need to know the inner workings of transmission power and how gears are used to run the turbines. 

Relation to design specifications: Understanding gear ratios will allow us to make an efficient transmission that improves the motor's efficiency. It will increase efficiency because the motor will have to do less work to spin the turbines.

STEM Principle 3: Electricity and Power

The connection to the project problem: Understanding voltage, resistance, and current is essential to our project. To optimize power output, we need to find the optimal configuration for our motor and create a circuit to transfer the generated power.

Relation to design specifications: Understanding how electricity flows through circuits will allow us to optimize our circuit design and motor to output as much power as efficiently as possible without losing it to heat or friction.

A wide multitude of aircraft engine designs are available and important to consider when determining which hybrid-design to base our model on. 

• Feedback from Design Engineer Sarah Huang at Pratt & Whitney allowed for a better understanding of engines in use today. 

  • Scramjet, ramjet, and turbine engines have powerful qualities, but they are uncommon in modern day airplanes and would be hard to implement into the modern hybrid design we are seeking to create.  

  • Realistically, these engines would not transfer well into a marketable design compared to the turbine engines that are more commonly used. Although there are many turbine engines (turboprop, turbojet...), the turbofan is most popular among commercial aircraft and was strongly recommended by Huang.  

    • She explained that "they are a much larger diameter in order to blow more air and produce thrust.  The intent is to only have a portion of this air go through the core of the turbine engine.  With a fan, that typically means there’s a lot more blades and they tend to be more contoured.  Also, a fan would be ducted, meaning it’s not open the surrounding air. This means that stream can be controlled and focused out the back end of the engine." 

    • In other words, Turbofan engines are easier to work with, making it easier to incorporate a hybrid component to generate larger amounts of power with less fuel usage. A turbofan engine generates more power by compressing the air that is filtered through the fans and allows for a combustion reaction-this is called the Brayton cycle.  

    • Huang also mentioned using an electric motor to increase the amount of torque in the main shaft of the engine and generate more power through the core of the engine system rather than the propellers. 

    • The only setback is that as more power generating components are added to aircraft, the more weight that is added and the hard it is to keep the airplane aloft.