First Torsion Test for Angle of Twist

For our first torsion test we tested two 2" pipes with an 1/8" wall. We tested one pipe at 41-13/16" and the other at 51-11/16". We first hand calculated the angle of twist of the two pipes and then we proceeded with our testing. During testing we measured the angle of twist manually. We downloaded a clinomoter application on our phones and we used it to measure the angle as the pipe was being twisted. However, we had to weld a flat bar on top of the pipe so we had a flat surface on where we could place our phones and measure the angle of twist. We tested the 2 different pipe lengths in order to determine the consistency of the torsion machine. Both of the pipes' angle of twist were close to what was calculated by hand. We determined that the machine was calibrated and accurate. We did not use strain gauges for our initial test because we did not know what to expect. Strain gauges will be used for our next test. 

Material Donation

The material that we will be using to calibrate the machine was donated to us by PDM Steel through our contact Ken Matzek. PDM Steel Donated 4 pieces of material to include 1/8" x 4 Flatbar, 2" Diameter OD solid round bar, 2" Diameter OD pipe with an 1/8" wall and a 2" x 2" 1/8" thick. This material was picked up by our team in January and taken to the Spartan Superway Shop.

Post for October 7th

Last week our group had its first presentation. Preparing for this presentation helped us organize or tasks, identify our individual roles and keep things in order. We also got to see some of the other presentations and this gave us a better understanding of where we stand in regards to the whole Superway team. I started the ANSYS Mechanical training with the links that were sent out. I took notes during the training and having the luxury to pause the training to take notes is quite convenient. I also started familiarizing myself with Solid Works. I bought a book that is going to help me with this task. The book is called Parametric Modeling with SolidWorks 2014. The book is by SDC Publication (ISBN:  978-1585038527) and it takes a step by step approach that really helps me grasp the parametric modeling concepts. Lastly, I am in charge of my teams budgeting and expenses. I have yet to coordinate with the treasurer to see how much money we have. This is will be the next item that I will execute.  

Initial Progress

In the last two weeks our team has been getting organized by tentative planning out the rest of the semester. We have mad a tentative schedule and we eventually transferred this information to a gantt chart. We also made a team blog in which all of the group members can edit. The blog includes a brief introduction of all of our members and it also includes the scope and goals of our team. After we planned out the semester, our group read the part of the report from last year that pertains to our team. We observed what they did and we discussed what we need to different and what we need to keep the same. We also started to learn ANSYS because it is vital to the assessment of our project. We also started preparing for our presentation that is coming up soon as well as an individual paper that is due next week.

BIO

My name is Ivan Tapia and i am currently a pursuing my BSME at San Jose State University. I am currently a senior and for my senior project i will be working on the Spartan Superway. I have an extensive background in Copmputer Aided Design (CAD) and some shop work experience as well. I have worked for JM Construction and Engineering and Walters and Wolf in which I developed CAD drawings for shop fabrication. I also worked as part of a takeoff group in which i had to coordinate with project managers and project coordinators to achieve a common goal and meet deadlines. I am excited to work on the Spartan Superway because it has potential to be something great in our community. I also love the interest that the Superway Has created from other countries as well as from other universities here in the states.