The Scuba Pool Prototype Design (SPPD) Team
Problem Statement
There is a growing need for Scuba diving training facilities to have full sized pools in or near their facilities for training, testing, certification of divers. Many companies simply can not afford, or do not have space to install a full scale diving pool.
Project Summary
This design will be both evolutionary and revolutionary. The overall design is revolutionary because there are no pool designs of this type presently being manufactured anywhere. The design will be evolutionary with respect to the overall appearance in that presently there are pools that are used for residential use but those designs are only 4 feet deep when they have a flat bottom. There are pools that are up to 9 feet deep but those pools require excavating the ground and do not rest on a flat surface. The pool that is to be designed will ideally be up to 9 feet deep and rest on a flat surface such as a cement floor. The pool will also be designed to allow the end users (scuba shops) to be able to teach students all that is necessary to become a certified scuba diver. The only exception to this rule is the need to have a final open water dive for final certification.
The pool design will require a significant amount of time spent in gathering the specifications. This will be done by gathering information from diving associations on scuba diving certification requirements. The data on customer needs will also be gathered by interviewing the expected market or expected end users of the finished product.
Out of necessity because of time constraints this project will only go so far as designing the pool and building a small model of the final design. This is necessary because the pool’s sheer size requires a large shop and thousands of dollars in order to build a full scale prototype. A model can be used later as part of a demonstration that can be presented to investors or sponsors with the end goal of obtaining enough funding to build a full scale prototype as well as obtaining a patent in order to ultimately market the product.
The building of the pool will require many skills. The skills needed are first and foremost organizational in order to plan and implement the project within the academic year. Skills in design and structural analysis will be used to their fullest in order to build a viable design. The difficulties of designing a pool so deep and that lies above ground, as well as keeping the end users and their customers safe mean that this is a project that is very large in scale even without building a full size model.
The project is perfect for a senior project because it involves exactly the types of problems a design engineer will face in the work force. The project requires researching and gathering specifications for the design. Concept generation and selection take a big role as well as organization. The design also requires extensive use of analytical skills in order to design the pool structurally. This project from start to finish is something any engineer could logically be expected to be given. The team will have to select materials, processes, and parts that can be purchased for every aspect of this design. Since the design is a revolutionary one, very little information exists on other designs and so this project will not be to improve upon already tested methods and design but to create something unique that can eventually be patented and marketed. In fact very little of the design can be taken from similar products that are already on the market but most of the design will most likely be made using new and custom built parts. The project will require careful selection of materials and the processes each part must undergo in order to keep costs low and marketability high. Budget analysis will have a major role.
Our SPPD Team
Individual Report Topics
3-D Modeling Report by John Patton,
Liner and Stress Analysis Report by Michael Arnold,
Decking Report by Geoffrey Joosten,
Shallow End Insert Report by Danny Christensen.
Group Report
View the Group Report here.