Engineering Design:

The science behind hovercraft levitation

Introduction to Engineering Design
The Autonomous Hovercraft Project
The Keystone Program
http://www.keystone.umd.edu


The Engineering Design Process:
Tinkering vs. Prototyping
The science behind hovercraft levitation

Video 1 of 3

Presenter
Kevin Calabro
kcalabro@umd.edu
Scientists discover the world that exists;
engineers create the world that never was.
Dr. Theodore von Krmn
Engineering Design
The science behind hovercraft levitation
Video Segment 1A
Identify
Customer
Needs
Product Specification Concept Generation
Define
Alternative
Concepts
Select
Most
Suitable
Concept
System Design
& Detail Design
Design and
Integrate
Subsystems
Test &
Modification
Build, Test,
& Modify
Prototype
Formulate
Product
Specification
Track & Assess
Through Life
Cycle
Life Cycle Tracking
Design
& Build
Tooling
Produce &
Distribute
Production
PDP
Design
The Product Development Process
The science behind hovercraft levitation
Video Segment 1A
The Design Process
(another view)
The science behind hovercraft levitation
Video Segment 1A
Source: http://createdu.org/design-thinking/
Autonomous Hovercraft Project
A semester long, multidisciplinary team project:
Design a product that meets the product specification
Teams must design and build an alpha prototype
Subsystem integration required
Success is!
designing a product that meets the product specification?
designing the best product that meets the product specification?
designing a product that lets you explore innovative technologies?
designing a product that fails to meet the product specification?
!even if through that failure you learn what decisions, assumptions,
team norms, leadership behaviors, task priorities, etc. will allow you to
succeed the next time you attempt the project?
The science behind hovercraft levitation
Video Segment 1A
So how do you build a hovercraft?
The science behind hovercraft levitation
Video Segment 1B
Levitation components
Lift fan, ducting & plenum (structure), skirt
The science behind hovercraft levitation
Video Segment 1B
Hovercraft demonstration
The science behind hovercraft levitation
Video Segment 1B
What makes a hovercraft float?
Plenum pressure
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation

Video 2 of 3

Presenter
Peter Sunderland
pbs@umd.edu
Levitation Subsystem Design
1. Specify a size and shape for your hovercraft
2. Design the structure, skirt, and plenum
3. Select a levitation fan
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 2A
Levitation Fans
A fan is a device that increases the energy of a fluid stream
Fans can increase pressure and/or kinetic energy
Commonplace Examples

The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 2A
Given a fan with a fixed size and rotational velocity:
How much pressure and flow rate can it produce?
This plot is referred to as the fan characteristic
Fan Characteristics
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 2A
So how much pressure do
you need to levitate?
F
p
W

The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 2B
Static Equilibrium
F
p
= !p" A
p
A
p

F
p
W

W = mg
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 2B
Plenum pressure requirement
Vehicle levitates when the total weight of the craft is balanced
by the net vertical pressure force in the plenum
The pressure necessary to levitate is determined by the vehicles
mass and planform area
p
A
mg
p = !
Eq. 1
Summary
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 2B
How high will my craft levitate?
Conservation Principles
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation

Video 3 of 3

Presenter
Peter Sunderland
pbs@umd.edu
Volumetric Flow Rate
If "p = W / A
p
, how high will my craft levitate?
The answer depends on your fan choice!
Operating point
(must lie on the
characteristic curve)
"p = 60 Pa
Q
fan
Q
fan
and vehicle size/
shape determine a
hovercrafts levitation
height (h
gap
)
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3A
Fluids Conservation Equations
All systems must obey 3 conservation laws:
Conservation of mass
Mass cannot be created or destroyed
Conservation of momentum
F = ma applied to fluids
Conservation of energy (Bernoullis Equation)
Energy cannot be created or destroyed
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3A
What is a Control Volume?
A control volume is any fixed volume that moves with your
hovercraft
Most control volumes involve fluid flowing in and out
We use control volumes to isolate a flow region of interest
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3A
1. Volumetric flow rate (Q) [m
3
/s]
Consider a fluid flowing through a duct:
2. Mass flow rate (m) [kg/s]
Fluid Properties
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3A
.
Conservation of Mass
Incompressible Fluid
Flow in which the density of the fluid is constant
Water, low speed aerodynamics! up to Mach 0.3 (~225 mph)
Hovercraft
Mass cannot be created or destroyed
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3B
Conservation of Mass
Calculate required fan flow rate (Q
fan
) using Conservation of Mass

l
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3B
Conservation of Energy:
Bernoullis Equation
Relates the amount of work done on a fluid element as it moves
along a streamline
Important restrictions:
Inviscid (friction is neglected)
Steady
Incompressible
Applied along a streamline
1
2
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3C
Bernoullis Equation (cont.)
Statement of Energy Conservation


Energy types
Kinetic energy
Potential energy
Pressure energy
For frictionless flow, there are no losses, and C is
the same everywhere
Energy can be converted between these three
energy types, but the total energy is conserved
p !V
2
/2 !gz
Total
E
n
e
r
g
y
/
v
o
l
u
m
e

2
1
2
V p gz C ! ! + + =
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3C
Bernoullis Equation
Calculate the air exit velocity (V
gap
) using Bernoullis Equation
V
gap

V
p

2
1
2
V p gz C ! ! + + =
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3C
h
gap
is a design INPUT

V
gap

V
p

l
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3C
Design Point
Once you know "p and Q
fan
, you can choose a fan!
What is your actual (best case) h
gap
?
Operating point
(must lie on the
characteristic curve)
"p = 60 Pa
Q
available
Q
req
= 120 m
3
/hr
Design Point
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3C
Volumetric flow rate requirement
The volumetric flowrate (Q) at the required plenum pressure ("p)
determines the hover height (h
gap
)
Conservation of mass requires Q
gap
= Q
fan

Q
fan
to levitate at a desired height (h
gap
) is a design requirement:
2 / 1
2
!
!
"
#
$
$
%
&
'
=
air
gap fan
p
l h Q
(
Eq. 2
Summary
The Science behind Hovercraft Levitation
Video Segment 3C