Engineering Outreach

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Engineering Outreach
Presented by Dominic Nolan. The Royal Academy of
Engineering
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• Objectives
• Delegates will know / be able to / will
  understand
• How The Royal Academy of Engineering supports
  STEM outreach
• Receive hands-on experience of an outreach
  resource
• Evaluate an outreach activity
• Identify areas of development for outreach
  activity

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Engineering Outreach The London Engineering
Project (LEP) Strengthen engineering by widening
participation in engineering higher education,
seeking the active participation of
under-represented groups i.e. women, students
from certain minority ethnic groups and students
from families with no experience of higher
education. www.thelep.org.uk The Engaging
Engineering Project (EEnP) www.raeng.org.uk/educat
ion/eenp
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Athlete or Machine?www.raeng.org.uk/athleteormac
hine
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• Investigate the big question athlete or machine?
• Practical activities and testing
• Mathematics activities
• Science activities
• Engineer/athlete video
• Student led
• Independent investigation
• Higher level thinking
• Scheme of work for STEM day or STEM club

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• Make a 15 bob skeleton sled
• 90 minute make
• Cheap materials
• Basic tools and equipment

Make a launcher
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Make some timing gates (if you have the
time) Launch pressure consistency
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• Bob Skeleton
• 1500m track
• 150 m vertical drop
• 143 km/h (40 m/s, 89 mph)
• Athletes times differ by tenths of seconds
• Rules for sleds dimensions, mass and materials
• 33 43 kg sled
• Amy Williams - Olympic gold 2010
• www.youtube.com

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• CHALLENGE
• Make a model of a bob skeleton sled
• See how far you can launch a Barbie!
• Present an answer to the question
• Athlete or Machine?
• Which is more important in the sport of bob
  skeleton?

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• Make a 15 bob skeleton sled
• Make the runners by bending the metal rod
• Attach runners to pod with cable ties
• Make sleds launch tube using acetate sheet, tape
  and a plastic nose cone (check that it fits onto
  the pumps launch tube)
• Fix the launch tube to the pod with double-sided
  sticky pads

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• Launch the model bob skeleton sled.
• Launch Barbie!

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• Factors
• Weight
• The athletes shape
• The athletes position
• Aerodynamic lift
• Steering
• Clothing and equipment
• Starting
• Corners
• Ergonomics (how the body fits a product)
• Track incline (the slope down the length of the
  track)
• Friction on the ice
• Aerodynamic drag (air resistance)
• Tuning the characteristics of the skeleton
• Material choice
• Sled runners

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Mathematics and science activities
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Energy transfer
Potential Energy (PE) m x g x h Change in PE
for our athlete and sled 144 639 Joules (J)
Kinetic Energy (KE) ½ x m x v2 0.5 x 97 kg x
(40.23 x 40.23) 78495 J
Why isnt the all of the athletes and sleds
potential energy transferred into kinetic energy?
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• Calculating friction force
• Ff ? x m x g
• Ff
• Mu, the coefficient of friction (steel on ice
  0.03).
• m Mass (kg).
• g The acceleration due to the gravity, which
  is 9.81 m/s2.

What is the friction force acting on the runners
of a bob skeleton sled and athlete with the
combined mass of 97 kg (athlete 68 kg, sled
29 kg)?
28.55 N
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• Calculating drag force
• FDRAG ½ x ? x CD x Af x V2
• FDRAG .
• 1.2 kg/m3 (density of air)
• CD 0.45 (drag coefficient of athlete and sled)
• Af 0.139 m2 (frontal area of athlete and sled)
• V 40 m/s (velocity)

Calculate the drag force acting on the athlete
and sled as they travel down the track at 40 m/s?
60.01 N
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What is the total force resisting the forward
movement of the athlete and her sled down the
track? FTOTAL Between which
velocities is friction force dominant?
.. Between which velocities is drag force
dominant? .. You can compare
the two forces on the graph here.
88.56N
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Prove that it is better to be heavy and narrow
when competing in The sport of bob skeleton.
ATHLETE 1 Total mass 97 kg Af
0.139 m2
ATHLETE 2 Total mass 100 kg Af
0.129 m2
Friction 28.55 N Drag 60.01 N Total
88.56 N
Friction 29.43 N Drag 55.73 N Total
85.16 N
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• Athlete or Machine?
• Which is more important in the sport of bob
  skeleton?
• Discuss this question with your partner/team
• Present your answer to the rest of the group

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• Discussion
• What is good about this activity?
• How would you change or improve the activity?
• How well would this activity work for your
  organisation?
• Who would benefit and how?
• Which members of staff would you need to involve?
• Do you have the room?
• Would you need to buy extra equipment or
  resources?
• What are the barriers to success and how could
  they be removed?
• What are the strengths of your current outreach
  activities and how could they be developed?

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