Design and manufacturing of a surf foil

Document
Contributors
Author: Leung, Brian
Author: Wu, Brandon
Thesis advisor: Fourie, Johan
Thesis advisor: King, Greg
Degree granting institution: British Columbia Institute of Technology
Abstract
This project's objective is to analyze the physical concepts behind hydrofoils using the principles of aircraft design and aerodynamic wing theory. The team investigated the design concepts that go into the airfoils for planes and selected a suitable NACA airfoil to use in our project. We also researched the design decisions that go into the designs of the front and back wings; as well as, the fuselage. The team familiarized themselves with the technical nomenclature of the airplane industry and applied the mechanics in their design. Experts in carbon fibre architecture and avid surfers were consulted for their input in the design. The team decided on a design with a dihedral angle for increased roll stability and a foil wing with a high aspect ratio. The NACA profile we chose was a very cambered profile, the NACA 6412. This allowed us the highest lift coefficient for the lowest attack angle. The next section discusses the evolution of the design from the concept to the final manufacturing prototype. It contains the steps to manufacture the prototype from gluing the MDF board, CNC cutting the core, carbon fibre layup to the final surface finishing. Finally, this report discusses the problems encounter during the manufacturing of the foil. It documents the errors we encountered like tool bit collision, collet collision, following error, tab thickness and epoxy surface layer. We conclude this report with the future work and improvements we could do with the manufacturing of the hydrofoil.

Refine your search

Note
Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Mechanical Engineering, British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Identifier
bd2f92bd-e8b1-4e2e-aeae-c798c5ac4526
Degree granted
Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Mechanical Engineering
Publisher
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Number of pages
81 pages
Type
Form
Language
Rights
This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. CC BY-NC-ND includes the following elements: BY: credit must be given to the creator. NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted. ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/