Literature Review
1. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a
large volume of air below the hull that is slightly above atmospheric pressure.
The pressure difference between the higher pressure air below the hull and
lower pressure ambient air above it produces lift, which causes the hull to
float above the running surface. For stability reasons, the air is typically
blown through slots or holes around the outside of a disk or oval shaped
platform, giving most hovercraft a characteristic rounded-rectangle shape.
Typically this cushion is contained within a flexible "skirt", which
allows the vehicle to travel over small obstructions without damage.
2. Hovercraft can be powered by one or
more engines. Small craft, such as usually have one engine with the drive split
through a gearbox. On vehicles with several engines, one usually drives the fan
which is responsible for lifting the vehicle by forcing high pressure air under
the craft. The air inflates the "skirt" under the vehicle, causing it
to rise above the surface. Additional engines provide thrust in order to propel
the craft. Some hovercraft use ducting to allow one engine to perform both
tasks by directing some of the air to the skirt, the rest of the air passing
out of the back to push the craft forward
3. This report outlines
the development of a autonomous hovercraft platform for the express purposes of
land mine detection. Design, construction and testing were undertaken by a
group of six final year engineering
students from the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of
Adelaide, during2009. The aim of
this project was to develop a prototype vehicle that would
provide a proof of concept for the
application of hovercraft to mine
detection. The scope of this project
included an extensive manufacturing abort ranging from woodworking to composite manufacture.
4. Universal Hovercraft was founded in 1967 by an aeronautical
engineer determined to produce hovercraft that were simple to operate,
performed well and achieve low operating costs. Universal Hovercraft continually
invests in advancing these technologies to bring you the most innovative
hovercraft in the world today.
5. Christopher Cockerel’s idea
was to build a vehicle that would move over the water's surface, floating on a
layer of air. This would reduce friction between the water and vehicle. To test
his hypothesis, he put a smaller can inside a larger can and used a hairdryer
to blow air into them. He had produced a ‘skirt’ of air capable of supporting a
weight. He came up with the word ‘lubrication’ for this layer of air between
hull and water. He made a working model with a boat-building friend, and tried
it out on a dock near his house. His hovercraft designs led to the first
hovercraft to be produced commercially, the SRN1. This was in 1956.
0 comments:
Post a Comment