In the competitive world of amusement parks, engineers are responsible for coming up with innovative and exciting ideas for new roller coaster rides while still adhering to the laws of physics and safety requirements. Ohio State first-year engineering students who built their own model-scale coasters will close the academic year with a competition next week to showcase their best examples.
From 2:45 to 4 p.m. Wednesday (May 28), the public is invited to see the coasters at the competition in room E100 of Scott Lab, 201 W. 19th Ave.
Of the 124 teams who built roller coasters, the 14 best teams will present their final model for the public and judges, including Jeff Gramke, the chief engineer of amusement park Kings Island. At 4 p.m., Gramke will present awards for the event.
The students will display their open-loop coasters, which consist of track rails with two 25-foot lengths of ¼-inch flexible plastic tubing and a circuit board. The students measure and control velocity with eight speed sensors to make sure the roller coaster “car,” which is really a large plastic marble, lands safely in a small box at the end of the roller coaster “ride.”
The roller coasters consist minimally of loops, a bump and rise, curve and straight-away track, but the teams are not limited to those specifications.
“Most of the teams push themselves to be creative; some might do triple-loops,” said John Merrill, director of the First-Year Engineering program. Inclusion of exceptionally difficult features, such as a double upward loop, a corkscrew or a cobra, can earn the teams extra points.
Throughout the process, teams must keep a project notebook, which contains sketches, memos and a paper design of the roller coaster plan. Teams must have a design with proper calculations before they receive the roller coaster kit.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy, but we don’t want students to just use guesswork,” Merrill said.
In the end, Merrill wants the roller coaster competition to be more of a learning process than anything.
“Students get more credit for documentation than whether the roller coaster works,” he explained, adding that showing the progress of their work is essential so the coasters do not just “crash and burn.”
The competition highlights the college’s First-Year Engineering program, which combines lectures, projects and labs for students to learn team-building, project management and communication skills. The program helps students find out about all the college has to offer, such as participation in student-led projects like the Buckeye Bullet, and have interaction with senior faculty members and industry representatives.
For more information about the college’s First-Year Engineering Program, visit http://www.eng.ohio-state.edu/fe/index.php.
Editors: For more information, contact John Merrill, director of the First-Year Engineering program, at (614) 292-0650 or merrill.25@osu.edu.
Tom Knox, (614) 292-1450, knox.105@osu.eduJoan Slattery Wall, (614) 292-4064, wall.107@osu.edu May 23, 2008
