Accelerometer With LCD display for wakeboard boats.

Discussion in 'Stability' started by Nic Allen, May 4, 2018.

  1. Nic Allen
    Joined: May 2018
    Posts: 2
    Likes: 0, Points: 1
    Location: Wisconsin

    Nic Allen New Member

    In wakeboarding the wake approximately 65 feet behind boats, is often uneven causing one side of the wake to be more dangerous to jump off of than the other leading to injury. This is the problem I am solving in an engineering class that I have gotten very engaged in and could use some help. Obviously the unevenness of the wake is due to the boat being longitudinally tilted, but is there any math to prove this? My solution is to use an accelerometer/LCD to display the tilt, and then the operator fills a ballast compartment until the tilt reads zero. Is there any math that could help me prove that this would solve my problem?
     
  2. DCockey
    Joined: Oct 2009
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    Location: Midcoast Maine

    DCockey Senior Member

    The nautical term for side to side "tilt" is "heel".

    Why do you need "math" to prove that a heeled boat may have a non-symmetric wake? What is the class?

    Do you want to display the tilt angle when the boat is at rest or underway?

    To display the heel angle at rest you could use a simple digital level such as Craftsman Aluminum Torpedo Level 8-1/4 in. L(00948295) - Line Level/Laser/Surveying - Ace Hardware http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=35552396&cp=2608353.21503026.21503036.98506326

    To display the average heel angle while underway would require filtering the accelerometer output to eliminate the transients.
     
  3. Nic Allen
    Joined: May 2018
    Posts: 2
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    Location: Wisconsin

    Nic Allen New Member

    We have to prove design viability by using math and physics (for engineering design and development). I'm not really sure why, but just explaining the logic behind the boat being level leads to a even wake isn't enough. This was my thinking for how I could use math for my design; Math could be used in my design to figure out how long a bag needs to be filled to balance out the boat. To do this you would need a ballast system, the tilt sensor, and a computer with a graphing program. I would start with one side of the ballast full, and one side of the ballast empty. I would start filling the empty bag until it full. As soon as the empty bag starts filling, tilt would be recorded on the Y-axis, and time would be recorded on the x-axis. This would be done for both sides because one bag may have a better pump than the other. The best fit curve to this graph would give you the rate at which the ballast system corrects tilt. This rate (degrees/second) multiplied by the degree of tilt would tell you how long it would take to correct that many degrees of tilt.

    Thanks for the response!
     
  4. gonzo
    Joined: Aug 2002
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    Location: Milwaukee, WI

    gonzo Senior Member

    If the boat is level (not listing) it is a symmetrical system. That means the wake will be the same on both sides, unless there is interference by wind, waves, other wakes, etc. Otherwise, the weight distribution must be changed to keep the boat level.
     

  5. BlueBell
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 2,677
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    Location: Victoria BC Canada

    BlueBell . . . _ _ _ . . . _ _ _

    What engineering school are you at?
    Math to fix a practical situation.
    Strange.
    Just use the spotter to move like human ballast.
    It will be a loading issue measured from the centre-line of the boat.
    You won't "solve" the problem but you can calculate some math numbers as requested.
    I wouldn't waste your time with an accelerometer.
     
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