Swimsuits, Boat Hulls, & a Home-Made Water Tunnel
In 9th Grade, I wanted to find out if the price of a swimsuit really affected its speed. Several of my friends were on the school swim team and constantly complained about the price of their swimsuits. I wondered if the cost really mattered.
To begin, I was able to acquire four different competition swimsuits for free from a local swimming store because they were misshapen, but this didn't change their material at all. The retail value of these suits ranged from $72-395. I attached the different swimsuits to small Lego boats, acquired a force probe to measure the amount of drag they produced, but needed a way to provide a constant water flow. I had heard about water tunnels, which force water down a pipe at a constant pressure, but they usually only belong to big universities and cost thousands of dollars. So, I thought, "Welp, might as well make my own!"
Using PVC pipe and a water pump from my Uncle's basement, I was able to design a home-made water tunnel that successfully pushed water from a 5-gallon pickle bucket into an open basin at a consistent speed/pressure. I was then able to place the swimsuit-covered boats into the water tunnel's basin, attach them to the force probe using fishing wire, and measure the amount of drag each boat produced.
In the end, higher price does make a swimsuit go faster, but c'mon... Who wants to pay $400 for one??
The swimsuit project was such a success that the next year, I decided to modify the basic idea and use the water tunnel again. Using a 3-D printer at the Roanoke Valley Governor's School, I designed four boat hulls, each with a different shape. In the same way that I conducted the swimsuit experiment, I measured the amount of drag the various boat hulls created in the water tunnel. Ultimately, a boat hull with a flat, un-angled bottom was found to produce the least amount of water drag.
Both projects gained attention from local Engineers and Navy veterans. The water tunnel was donated to the Roanoke Valley Governor's School and continues to be used by current students in their research endeavors.
Swimsuit Project Awards:
1st Place, 2014 RVGS Project Forum (Physics division)
PTA Special Award, 2014 Roanoke City Science Fair (Engineering division)
Boat Hull Project Awards:
Best Use of Multimedia, 2015 RVGS Project Forum (Physics division)
To begin, I was able to acquire four different competition swimsuits for free from a local swimming store because they were misshapen, but this didn't change their material at all. The retail value of these suits ranged from $72-395. I attached the different swimsuits to small Lego boats, acquired a force probe to measure the amount of drag they produced, but needed a way to provide a constant water flow. I had heard about water tunnels, which force water down a pipe at a constant pressure, but they usually only belong to big universities and cost thousands of dollars. So, I thought, "Welp, might as well make my own!"
Using PVC pipe and a water pump from my Uncle's basement, I was able to design a home-made water tunnel that successfully pushed water from a 5-gallon pickle bucket into an open basin at a consistent speed/pressure. I was then able to place the swimsuit-covered boats into the water tunnel's basin, attach them to the force probe using fishing wire, and measure the amount of drag each boat produced.
In the end, higher price does make a swimsuit go faster, but c'mon... Who wants to pay $400 for one??
The swimsuit project was such a success that the next year, I decided to modify the basic idea and use the water tunnel again. Using a 3-D printer at the Roanoke Valley Governor's School, I designed four boat hulls, each with a different shape. In the same way that I conducted the swimsuit experiment, I measured the amount of drag the various boat hulls created in the water tunnel. Ultimately, a boat hull with a flat, un-angled bottom was found to produce the least amount of water drag.
Both projects gained attention from local Engineers and Navy veterans. The water tunnel was donated to the Roanoke Valley Governor's School and continues to be used by current students in their research endeavors.
Swimsuit Project Awards:
1st Place, 2014 RVGS Project Forum (Physics division)
PTA Special Award, 2014 Roanoke City Science Fair (Engineering division)
Boat Hull Project Awards:
Best Use of Multimedia, 2015 RVGS Project Forum (Physics division)
