Engineering Design Competitions
Competition Details
ELECTRIC BOAT - Participants will use their ingenuity to craft a boat from their own design. Each participant will be judged on how long it takes his/her boat to traverse the distance of a channel (approx. 10 feet). The boat with the fastest time will win.
OBJECTIVE
Participants will use their ingenuity to craft a boat from their own design. Each participant will be judged on how long it takes his/her boat to traverse the distance of a channel (approx. 10 feet). The boat with the fastest time will win. The racecourse will be a channel of at least 7'' Wide by 4" High by 12" Long. Boats may be no wider than six inches. The depth of the water will be approximately 3-inches. There will be a separate competition for high schools and middle schools.
GENERAL RULES
- Each participant must provide his/her own materials including glue, one AA battery, and paint.
- A single AA battery must be used as the sole power source.
- Motors may be of the participant's choice. Suggested motors from Radio Shack are 1.5-3 V DC Motors either part numbers 278-223 or 273-258
- Contestant must be present at race time to participate in the contest.
- It is recommended that boats be made as light as possible.
- Boats CANNOT be pushed at the start of the race.
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BABY BAJA-The Baby Baja Rally is a competition that challenges middle and high school students individually or as a team to build a miniature all-terrain vehicle capable of traversing sand dunes, water, and logs. This competition is intended to reward imagination, ingenuity, and teamwork.
OBJECTIVE
The ODU Baby Baja Rally is a competition that challenges middle and high school students individually or as a team to build a miniature all-terrain vehicle capable of traversing sand dunes, water, and logs (1-inch diameter dowels). This competition is intended to reward imagination, ingenuity, and teamwork.
DESCRIPTION
The car should typically be small, no more than 12" in length, with 3 or 4 wheels, 1 or 2 of which are powered by the motor. No steering is needed. Remote controls are not allowed.
CONTEST RULES
- Energy and power supplies will be limited to one (1) Radio Shack 1.5-3.0 volt DC motor (Part # 273223) and two (2) Radio Shack AA batteries (Part # 23-557).
- Absolutely NO commercial model kits, pre-assembled vehicles, or portions of model kits or pre-assembled vehicles will be allowed.
- ORIGINALITY is the most heavily weighted judging criteria. Points will be given for creative use of common household items.
- No additional energy sources are permitted (e.g. springs, rubber bands, solar cells, etc.).
- The motor may not be taken apart or altered in any way.
- The contest allows for two (2) runs, and the best time will be taken. (Remember that time is only 15% of the scoring.)
- The entire vehicle should cross the finish line, without breaking apart, in order to score the 5% listed below for finishing the course. However, in the event the car does not cross the finish line, and/or breaks apart, the judges may award some performance points depending on distance traveled and the degree to which car remains intact.
- All decisions of the judges are final.
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EGG DROP - Construct an apparatus that will allow an uncooked egg to survive a 25-foot free fall intact. The design of the apparatus should emphasize the mechanical principles of energy absorption.
OBJECTIVE
Construct an apparatus that will allow an uncooked egg to survive a 25 foot free fall intact. The design of the apparatus should emphasize the mechanical principles of energy absorption.
GENERAL RULES
Entries may be constructed of any material. Exclusive use of commercially available energy absorbing materials such as Styrofoam, etc. is discouraged: emphasis should be on mechanical means. Students may work in groups to submit a design. Only one design per group. All eggs will be supplied by the contest staff the day of the event just prior to the individual drops.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Winners will be determined by the following criteria:
Condition of egg after drop (successful/unsuccessful)
Weight of design (lightest)
Closeness to the center of the target
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IMPROMPTU DESIGN COMPETITION- In mechanical engineering, plastic and creepy materials have specific meanings. In this year's impromptu design competition such materials take on a special meaning as they apply to food and food-related items used as structures. This competition should give all of us additional insight into why designing with such materials is challenging. Don't have a team? Don't worry. Teams will be formed on the day of the contest from all registrants.
OBJECTIVE:
In mechanical engineering, plastic and creepy materials have specific meanings. In this year's impromptu design competition such materials take on a special meaning as they apply to food and food-related items used as structures. This competition will provide insight into the challenge of designing with such materials.
GENERAL RULES
Each team will be given the following materials:
1packet of marshmallows
1 packet of soda straws
2 Styrofoam cups
1 construction plywood base
The formula for success is to use the marshmallows, straws and cups to build a structure on your plywood base to hold pennies. You must use one or both cups to receive pennies. The structure will be used to position the cup or cups above the base to hold pennies. No straws may be cut, but you may push straws through any of your materials if you wish.
The scalar representing the quality of your work, the design quality, M, is given by:
Design quality M = W x D
W = weight of pennies in your cup(s)
D = height of lowest point of lowest cup above the base at the end of 15 seconds when the structure has been "design loaded" with pennies.
JUDGING CRITERIA
All teams will be given the same length of time to prepare their entry. Listen to the announcer's instructions carefully for any new information or competition changes. When asked, a member of each team will bring their structure forward to the judging table, and another member will load the cup(s) with pennies and will tell the judges when the design load is achieved. Only then will the 15-second count begin. At the end of this time the judges will measure D from the lowest cup to the base, measure the weight, W, and calculate your team's M.
Highest M wins - Good Luck!
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MODEL SPAN BRIDGE - The object of this contest is to construct a 12-inch-long model bridge from a given amount of balsa wood. This model will be tested to destruction to determine its load-carrying capacity as related to its weight when subjected to a single loading
OBJECTIVE
The object of this contest is to construct a 12-inch long model bridge from a given amount of balsa wood. This model will be tested to destruction to determine its load-carrying capacity as related to its weight when subjected to a single loading. There will be separate competitions for high schools and middle schools.
GENERAL RULES
All contestants must use the official material kits available from the department of Engineering and Technology at Old Dominion University. The cost of the kits is $4.00. Kits are to be picked up from the Engineering Technology Department at Old Dominion University, Room 214, Kaufman Hall, 683-3765.
- Only one materials kit may be used to construct each model.
- The wood cannot be treated or painted in any way. Such treatment would alter the strength characteristics of the wood.
- The model must be completely assembled when submitted for testing.
- The panel of judges will determine the final decision on all questions.
- Any number of people may work on a single entry.
- All entries will indicate the name, school, and grade of each participant responsible for entry construction.
- Entries will be disqualified if materials other than those furnished in the kit are used. Wood glue and "super" (ACC) glue are not allowed.
- The design of the bridge must accommodate the test load apparatus. Loading will be applied to a 2" x 3" plate placed on the roadbed in the center of the span. A 1" x 1" x 3" (tall) block will transmit the load to the roadbed plate. Any construction above the roadbed should allow the block to pass through an opening in the center of the bridge. Any construction below the bridge must be less than 1".
- The bridge MUST be configured as a truss. If the materials are glued together as a "log" in any form, the entry will be disqualified.
LOADING SPECIFICATIONS
- The model will be loaded until failure.
- Failure is defined as a permanent decrease in the load carrying capacity.
- The load will be applied to the roadbed and a minimum of 50 lbs must be carried.
BRIDGE DIMENSIONS
Length: 12 inches
Min. width: 3 inches
Max. height: 4 inches
JUDGING CRITERIA
The model that demonstrates the highest efficiency ratio well be declared the best entry.
The efficiency ratio refers to the amount of weight that the bridge holds at the point it fails (i.e. breaks) divided by the weight of the bridge. For example if two bridges both fail when loaded with 150 pounds of weight and bridge #1 weighs 50 grams and bridge #2 weighs 75 grams the efficiency ratios would be:
Bridge #1 Efficiency Ratio = 150 lbs/50 grams = 3 lbs/gram
Bridge #2 Efficiency Ratio = 150 lbs/75 grams = 2 lbs/gram
You can see from these calculations that bridge #1 has the higher efficiency ratio and consequently would be a higher rated bridge than bridge #2. At the end of the competition the bridge with the highest ratio in each division (high school and middle school) will be declared the winner.
Questions?
Email: engineer@odu.edu
Phone: 757-683-5655
Fax: 757-683-3765