Hydrogen Fuel

Cell Boat
Daniel Cohen, Hannah Zhang,
Delia Chen
December 10, 2014
Period 1

Member Color on Slides

Delia - Red
Daniel - Blue
Hannah - Green

Table of Contents
Content

Slide Number

Design Brief

4-5

Research

6-8

Initial Sketches

9-14

Decision Matrix

15-16

Final Sketches

17-18

Construct and Test Prototype

19-20

Test Results

21

Evaluate Solution

22-23

Classmate Comparison

24-25

References

26

Design Brief
Client: Mrs. Starks
Designers: Hannah Zhang, Daniel Cohen, Delia Chen
Problem Statement: Design, model, and test a foam hydrogen fuel cellpowered boat that meets all design constraints.
Constraints:
The air boat must be made from a piece of foam material no larger than
4x 8x 1
The air boat must not tip and spill the fuel cell.
The air boat must be designed so that fuel cells are easily removed.

Design Brief (2)

Deliverables:
Design Folio that includes:
Problem Statement with criteria and constraints
Research Summary
Six brainstorming sketches that include labels, descriptions,
signatures, and dates.(digital images with originals in engineering
notebook)
A final pictorial sketch that includes labels, descriptions, signatures,
and dates.
A testing summary that documents at least 2 tests performed prior to
the final evaluation and the results of those tests. The summary will
include descriptions and sketches about any changes that were
made based on the tests.
Airboat Prototype

Research (1)
Delias Research Summary:
A fuel cell generates electricity through a series of chemical reactions
involving the electrolysis of hydrogen with two electrodes (the anode and the
cathode). The fuel cell uses 2 substances: hydrogen (which must be supplied
to the cell) and oxygen (which is readily available in the air). After the splitting
of the electrons and protons, the electrons travel through a circuit to power
something, while the protons pass through the PEM and react with the oxygen
ions to create water.
For boat structure, the multi-hull boat (a boat with multiple boat structures
combined) has a wide stance that provides greater stability. The vee bottom
boat is stable and provides a smoother ride through rough water, but is less
efficient and thus requires more power to achieve the same speed as other
types of boats.

Research (2)
Hannahs Research Summary
A hydrogen fuel cell converts chemical energy stored in hydrogen into
electricity. The hydrogen first passes through the anode of the fuel cell, which
uses platinum as a catalyst to split the hydrogen into protons and electrons.
The hydrogen ions then move into the cathode, where oxygen is supplied to the
fuel cell. The two react with electrons from the external circuit, producing
electricity, with water and heat as the only emissions.
There are many different kinds of boat hull designs that are shaped for
different purposes. A flat-bottom boat provides good initial stability but is liable
to tip over if the load is not balanced perfectly. A round-bottom boat is great for
speed because there is less water resistance, but they have a tendency to roll if
the load is not evenly distributed. Pontoon hulls or multi-hulls are very stable,
and while they arent quite as fast as V-shaped hulls, they still have a fair
amount of speed.

Research (3)
Daniels Research Summary:
A hydrogen fuel cell is when chemical energy is stored by hydrogen is
turned into energy by the process of electrolysis of hydrogen through and
anode and cathode. Hydrogen enters through the anode (positive +), and
Oxygen enters through the Cathode (negative -). Chemical reactions strip the
elements of their electrons, and power the fuel cell. Fuel Cells are a clean form
of energy and are stacked to increase voltage output.

Initial Sketches (1)

Delias Sketch #1:
My first idea is a tri-hull boat,
with the middle hull larger than
the two around it. The overall
shape of the boat will be leaf-like
and pointed at the front and
back. The hydrogen fuel cell will
sit in the middle of the boat for
balance, and the propeller will
be attached at the back of the
fuel cell.

Initial Sketches (2)

Delias Sketch #2:
My second idea is for the boat to
have a V-shaped hull, which
would be less stable than the
multi-hull boat, but possibly
faster. The overall shape would
still be pointed at the front and
back and rounded on the sides,
and the hydrogen fuel cell will be
in the middle of the boat with the
propeller attached at the back of
it.

Initial Sketches (3)

Hannahs Design #1
My first design is a multi-hull boat. The
middle hull is larger and more sharply
slanted than the other two, which are
smaller and slightly rounded at the points.
The overall shape is like a narrow leaf.
The fuel cell will be located at the boats
center of balance, a little further back than
the exact middle of the boat. Overall
dimensions are as shown in the image.

Initial Sketches (4)

Hannahs Design #2
My second design is a roundbottom boat. The hull curves down
until it tapers out to a sharp point.
The front edges of the boat are
curved to streamline its shape and
thereby reduce water resistance.
The fuel cell will be in the center of
the boat, with the propellor
attached to it. Overall dimensions
are as shown in the image.

Initial Sketches (5)

Daniels Sketch #1

My first idea was for a rounded bottom boat. The fuel

cell would sit at the back of boat to balance out the
weight,since a majority of the foam will be cut at
back it would even out. The propeller is placed at the
back of the boat behind the fuel cell so the boat can
move properly.

Initial Sketches (6)

Daniels Sketch #2
My second design is a boat with a split design in the
middle.The bottom of the boat is curved for speed, and
the fuel cell is placed in the back.Only the back is
carved to place the cell, so the boat itself doesn't lose
weight. The propeller is placed behind the cell so it can
move easily.

Decision Matrix (1 - 4; 1 = bad, 4 = great)

Criteria
Ideas
Delias Idea #1

Delias Idea #2

Hannahs Idea #1

Hannahs Idea #2

Daniels Idea #1

Daniels Idea #2

Stability

Speed

Easy to Build
2

Meets Size
Constraints
4

13

13

13

12

13

12

15

14

15

13

12

13

11

13

12

10

13

12

Totals

Final Total
39

37

44

38

36

35

Decision Matrix cont. (1 - 4; 1 = bad, 4 = great)

Delias first idea was a multi-hull, but we decided that it would be harder to
cut out the shape of the boat with both tips pointed. It would also be harder to
balance the front and back of the boat. Delias second idea was a V-shaped
boat, which we deemed too unstable, as it could easily tip to one side.
We chose to use Hannahs first idea of the multi-hull boat, as it would
provide the most stability while also providing sufficient speed. The pointed tip
and rounded sides would give the boat speed by lowering water resistance and
the two extra hulls would help stabilize it due to its wider stance on the water.
Hannahs second idea was a round-bottom boat, which lacked stability because
of its tendency to roll and would be too hard to cut out.
Daniels first idea was also a round-bottom boat, which, like Hannahs
second idea had less stability and the rounded hull would be harder to cut. We
liked his second idea, but we decided that it would be harder to create because
of its more complex design.

Final Sketches (1)

4 in.
3 in.

2 in.

8 in.

10 in.

Final Sketches (2)

Construct and Test a Prototype

Top View

Side View

Construct and Test a Prototype

Back View

Front View

Bottom View

Test Results
Trial

Time

Observations

20.66

Boat kept going to the side,

most likely because the boat
was not perfectly balanced.
The curvature of its path
contributed to its slower
speed. We were happy that
the boat didnt tip over and
sat in the water nicely.

22.77

Similar to what happened

with the first trial - boat kept
veering off the the side.

Evaluate the Solution

We chose to alter our hull design from its original

multi-hull shape to a tunnel hull design. This was
because we discovered that the hot wire was too
short to carve out our multi-hull design--the length
of our boat exceeded the wires height. The tunnel
hull also provided good stability and speed, and
could be shaped using the utility knives and saws.

After initial trials,

we also found it
necessary to
attach floats on
both sides of our
boat, because it
kept tipping over.
This was likely
because our boat
was not perfectly
balanced. The
floats worked very
well and our boat
became much
more stable.

Evaluate the Solution

After some more
tests, we found
that the boat was
leaning
backwards in the
water, so we
shifted the fuel
cell forward to
balance the
weight evenly.
In addition, we used a foam piece to elevate
our motor and propeller so that it would not
spin in the water while moving.

Alexs, Manojs, and Viveks Boat

Our Boat (Top and Side Views)

Classmate Comparison (1)

Classmate Comparison (2)

Our Boat

Times of 20.66 and 22.77

It moved forward fairly well but tended to
veer off to the side, which impacted the
time it took to reach the other side.
Our boat had a 3-blade propeller.
Wider width, floats were more off to the
side.
Less than half of the boat was submerged.

Alexs, Manojs, and Viveks Boat

Much faster, averaging to about 7 seconds.

It also veered off to the side, but at a
smaller degree compared to ours.
Their boat had a six-blade propeller.
More narrow, with the floats right next to
the boat.
More submerged into the water. Half of the
green floats were submerged.

Overall, their boat was much more successful, because they had more blades on their propeller,
and their boat was narrower. Even though they didnt have a pointed tip like we had, their floats
were touching the sides of the boat, making the boat less wide overall, decreasing the water
resistance.

References
"Boat Hulls - Types and Designs - BoatSafe Kids!" Boat Hulls - Types and Designs - BoatSafe Kids! N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.boatsafe.com/kids/022298hulls.htm>.
N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <https://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/duk_/lessons/d>.
uk_float_mary_less/duk_float_mary_less.xml
The Impractical Fishermen: Kayak Hull Designs." The Impractical Fishermen: Kayak Hull Designs. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.theimpracticalfishermen.com/2013/10/kayak-hull-designs.html>.