The Fun Monorail:
Individual Project Concept Study

Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Project
EG 498A
David Greene
Christiane Likely
Patrick Sullivan

Advisor: Dr. Kogge
9/8/95

Introduction

The project concept I am going to write about is on a monorail. This monorail would have starting and stopping ability at various spots on the track. The doors would open and close nicely on the train. This project would involve mechanical engineering principles as well as simple Newtonian physics. Robotics would also be part of this also as would some civil engineering in building a strong enough track to hold a train.

The Monorail

The track would be some sort of loop so it was continuous. It would have definitive stopping points where it would stop, wait for some fixed length of time, and then restart. During this pause, doors on the car would open up and pretend to allow people to get on and off. There would be some notification that the doors are about to close and it would restart soon after they closed. The mechanism to cause the trap to stop would be a light sensor on the track that would function like an electric eye. The motion would be taken away from the monorail after the light beam has been broken. The deceleration could be timed to put the mock platform at the stop in the proper position. This method is not the most scientific, but it would be accurate.

The technologies integrated include the mechanics of motoring a train as well as the difficulties in getting it to stop and start at certain times. Also involved are the computer aspects of having the train know when it is supposed to decelerate and stop. The mechanics in opening the doors are another involved technology. The civil engineering comes into making a set of tracks strong enough to endure the train. All of these together make this project into something that can appeal to all of the different kinds of engineers.

The educational goals in this project are to teach the students how to properly write and document a project of this size. This appears to be one of the things lacking in the curriculum. Also, simply physics concepts like acceleration and momentum(to calculate where the train will stop). Also, the integration itself, which does not often happen in other engineering classes, could teach people that engineering is not as isolated as appears. Everything done affects other people. The things learned through concepts like these can be invaluable and will help the students in their careers as well as their education.

This project might require some special stuff beyond the kits. I have been told that there is a Lego train that can be bought. If it is adaptable, it would be worthwhile to have and use. There may also not be enough pieces if the train kit is not purchased. This experiment can be developed within the timeframe of this course. Of course, extras can always be added to make it more educational and enjoyable. More stops, and actual people are just two of the many things that could be added. Faster engines could also play a part.

The competitive aspect in this would have to be with the attempt to see who can make the most stops or who can make the fastest train that would not fall off of the tracks. The competition can be added into it in some way. Decoration of the train could even be used as a competition.

Conclusion

A train would make a truly unique project that would combine physics, mechanics, and computers. Civil engineering would also be used in the development of a track. This project would allow different engineers to work together and learn at the same time. This is the whole point.