Project is related to the Sanderson Rocking Arm Mechanism (SRAM), an alternative to the conventional slider-crank mechanism used for engines and hydraulic pumps/motors. (More information about the SRAM can be obtained by visiting Sanderson's web site: www.sandersonengine.com.) Potential applications of the SRAM include wind turbines, in which the blades would drive a variable-displacement hydraulic pump, which (in turn) would drive a variable-displacement motor, which (in turn) would drive an electrical generator. Advantages of this scheme over the conventional arrangement include elimination (or simplification) of gearing and flexibility in distribution of components between pod and base.
The Sanderson company has shared with Cornell the CAD drawings for a particular pump/motor, and the project would entail creation and utilization of a multi-body dynamic model using commercial software available in M&AE.
The dynamic model would be used to verify an existing analytical model (already developed by Prof. Booker) and potentially lead to joint publication in a mechanisms research journal.
For more information contact Prof. Booker, jfb5@cornell.edu