An Experimental Set Up For Optimal Design Of A Human Powered Hydraulic Bicycle

Product development competitions through capstone design courses pose both, opportunities and challenges for graduating seniors in engineering and engineering technology programs. Faculties of relevant programs recognize the value of industry-sponsored projects for involvement of students in genuine practice of the design process, and for participation in major competitions. This can result in supportive sponsors, substantial resources, and enhanced motivation for the students. However, such competitions may also impose process, materials, fabrication, time, and performance constraints that are not usually encountered in a typical capstone design project. This paper discusses senior design projects that have been based on a national hydraulic bicycle design competition sponsored by a major corporation. Incorporating long-term performance criteria of a product/system at an early stage of the design cycle was beneficial, and this experience is discussed. However, the team encountered a variety of challenges in working through the many constraints of the competition. Because such competitions typically work from a industry rather than an academic timeline, tasks such as prototyping, design refinement, fabrication, and a performance-based competition may be overwhelming for a two-semester project. Similarly, variability of the design team, integration of multiple design concepts in the final design, selection of available industrial components in lieu of specified components in the design are faced and also discussed in this paper. All of these specific conditions affect the implementation method of a traditional engineering design process and must be addressed by faculty. Thus, while industry-sponsored competitions offer exciting potential for capstone design projects, it is important that faculty, students, and sponsors recognize and respond to the constraints and challenges they are likely to face in successful completion of these projects.