Redesign and Refine

Brendan McIntyre and Raymond Wood

The overall prototype was not successful but some part of the system is unique, solves a

problem, and should be pursued as the focus of further efforts.

1. Perform research to ensure that the system is in fact unique and an original solution

to a problem.

1. The first graph depicts CO2 emissions measured in ppm (parts per million) in

our small engine motor bike as a function of time. As you can clearly see, the

emissions level steadily increases until around the 100 second mark.. After the

first 100 seconds the emission rate fluctuates from 24,000 ppm to around

31,000 ppm. As the graph indicates, after the first 190 seconds, the rate

rapidly increases and peaks at around 42,000 ppm. As the engine entered a

cool down phase the CO2 emissions decreased significantly. The sensors

maximum reading is around 102,000 ppm. After comparing the 102,000 ppm

max value collected from two full sized cars (a truck, and a small engine kia)

to our 42,000 ppm collected value, we have concluded that, although the

engine size difference is very large, our small engine motor bike as relatively

low emissions compared to that of a car.

2. Keep your original problem statement and documentation that led to your solution. This

information will be important as you explain the story of your final problem solution.

a. Two wheeled, small engine motorized vehicles all encounter the same problem;

fuel efficiency. The main issue with small engine bikes is that they wastefully use

fuel due to the fact that most don't have a means of gear change. This means that

in order to go faster, the engine must be in full throttle until it reaches its

maximum rotations per minute, or rpm. Although in the United States only 14%

of households own a motorcycle of some sort, other countries such as Thailand

and Vietnam have rates upwards of 90%. All riders of these small types of bikes

would agree that; although the fuel tank is small, it could be better used. It is our

purpose to research and develop a way to increase fuel efficiency in small engine

motor bikes. Although it is possible to have an extremely fuel efficient motorbike,

you simply can't have power, with efficient fuel economy. The more powerful the
 engine, the worse the fuel economy becomes. Whilst this makes sense, it is

something all riders would like a solution for. For example, if you were to ride a

Honda Rebel, you'd be getting a nice 84 miles per gallon. This sounds good until

you look at the engine size, a small 234cc engine that barely puts out enough

power to get to highway speeds. To get a reasonably sized engine, say 450cc,

youd only be getting about 35-45 miles per gallon. These numbers exclude the

addition of the rider, who will easily decrease the fuel economy due to weight.

b. It is important to note that our original plan was to change a large part of the

engine and make a new exhaust system to increase efficiency, and the exhaust

system is what failed in the original testing.

2. Create a new problem statement that reflects the system component that your team is now

focused on pursuing. Include additional documentation or actions as requested by your

instructor.

a. We are now focused on pursuing modifications that will increase the performance

of any small engine motor bike. For the purposes of our testing data and

modifications, performance does not necessarily correlate to more power and

speed. Performance for our purposes means an overall increase of all components

of the motor bike, including fuel efficiency, acceleration, economics, top speed,

and overall power output. As mentioned in the previous problem statement, speed

does not correlate to more efficiency. But if we make minor changes to a few

engine parts, the overall increase will yield more power and more efficiency. The

purpose of our new component system is to test the changes that we have already

made and review data to determine whether or not they have been successful,
 even though it may not have been the intended purpose of the changes. Our

intended purpose was to get the bike running from the deteriorated condition that

we received it in. The unintended side effect of the way that we achieved the

performance we now have was an unseen increase in speed and efficiency that

came from the replace of parts and the changing of a few of the bikes systems.

Our new problem statement is this: determine what changes correlated in the

change that we have noticed, isolate those changes, and record any and all testing

data, documentation, and processed that helped us to attain our conclusion.

2. Isolate the component and determine whether additional or new ways of testing

should be followed.

a. The components that we believe are responsible for the changes we have

observed, are modifications to the ignition coil, the sprocket, the transmission,

and the carburetor. The individual testing of these components may prove to be

difficult in some situations, but most of these components can be isolated and

testing to determine their effect of the overall performance. Considering that we

do not have access to advanced testing facilities, the option that we have come to

the conclusion is the best way to test these parts, is to buy different sized and

different performing replacements, put them on the bike, and run the same tests

that we have with the parts that we currently have placed on the bike. In the case

of the sprocket, this will occur in the form of buying a replacement that fits the

sprocket joint but is a different size that our original, most likely one that is larger

and one that is smaller. We will run a top speed test, an acceleration test, and an

emissions test, with all three of the sprockets that we have; the original, and both
 the larger and smaller replacement. In the case of the carburetor, the testing will

be very similar to the sprocket. We will purchase a new carburetor that is meant

for a different performance aspect and run all three tests with the new carburetor

and compare testing data. In the case of the transmission, there is not much we

can do to test this with the resources we have available. If it were an option, we

could take the bike to a more advanced testing facility we could isolate the

transmission and record data about the shifting and performance of the

transmission, but we do not have access to a facility such as this, so there is little

we can do in regard to testing the transmission. And lastly, the testing of the

ignition coil will take place in similar ways to the carburetor and sprocket. We can

order a new ignition coil that has a different performance purpose that the current

model in use, and run the acceleration, top speed, and efficiency tests with the

new model and compare data. After compiling all of our data, we will come

together as a team and likely contact experts in the respective fields to help us

come to a logical conclusion about how modifying the components affects the

performance of our bike and how we should proceed with our results.

Conclusion

1. How do all attempts to solve a problem (successfully or not successfully) contribute

to the body of knowledge that designers use as they pursue redesign?

1. Redesigning is a relatively easy process once tests have been run to successfully

determine a problem. Designers are tasked with the initial design as well as the

final design. Because of this the designers and engineers, must come up with

ideas together to ensure a successful product, or at least, a functioning product.

 There must be an attempt to solve a problem and come up with a solution from

every aspect of the device. This will ensure that all possible solutions were

thought of, even if it is following the design and build phases.

b. What resources that you did not use or could not access would have improved your

results? Explain.

1. As a team, we could not come up with the proper materials and tools to design

and successfully construct a functioning exhaust system. This wouldve

drastically helped our product in that we could have significantly improved fuel

efficiency.