9th INTERNATIONAL SUBRACES CONCLUDE WITH NEW WORLD SPEED RECORDS

…Canadian Submarine OMER5 cracks 8-Knot Barrier in Human-Powered Engineering Design Competition…

CARDEROCK, MD. July 2, 2007 -A Canadian team set a new world speed record of 8.035 knots during competition in the 9th International Submarine Races held June 25-29 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Carderock Division David Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, Maryland.

The biennial engineering design competition hosted 22 experimental human-powered submarine teams with 26 subs from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. The event challenges the engineering creativity of college, high school and independent students, inventors and entrepreneurs.

The new speed mark, which won the Absolute Speed Award, was set by a submarine called OMER 5, crewed by Sebastien Brisebois and Joel Brunet from the Ecole de Technologie Superieure at the University of Quebec, Montreal, Canada. The previous world record was 7.192 knots set by OMER 4 in June, 2001. OMER team members had predicted that they might finally break the eight-knot mark, a speed most enthusiasts previously deemed unachievable by human-powered submarines.

Submarine race leaders praised the innovation of a new one-person submarine, OMER6, also from the Quebec team, which had a radical propulsion system utilizing oscillating wings on each side of the forward fuselage. This submarine shattered the previous non-propeller design speed record by achieving 4.642 knots. Powering OMER6 was Nicolas Tardif.

Team OMER won the award for Best Overall Performance, carrying a prize of $1,000 donated by the IEEE Ocean Engineering Society. Among other awards:

Best Overall Performance-1st, Team Omer, Ecole de Technologie Superieure, University of Quebec, $1,000 and trophy; 2nd, Ecole Polytechnuique de Montreal, $500; 3rd, U-3.2, Sussex County Technical School, $250. Honorable mention to Texas A&M, University of Washington and Western Washington University.

Innovation-1st, Sussex County Technical School, Sussex, NJ, $750 and trophy; 2nd, Bruce Plazyk, Independent, Bogus Batoid, $500; 3rd, University of Bath, United Kingdom, Sea Bomb, $250. Honorable mention to Ecole de Technologie Superieure, University of Quebec..

Best Use of Composites-1st, University of Washington, $750; honorable mention to Western Washington University and Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.

Best Design Report-1st, University of Washington; honorable mention to University of Quebec and Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.

Best Spirit of the Race-University of Veracruz, Mexico; The fastest American team was Texas A&M’s Maroon Harpoon, which has achieved a speed of 5.022 knots with Luke Savoie providing propulsion. Former world champion submarine team Florida Atlantic University recorded a best speed of 4.796 knots in its effort to regain prominence in the world of human-powered submarine design.

Speed awards:

Absolute Speed-University of Quebec, OMER 5, 8.035 knots, $750 and trophy; Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Archimede 4, 6.473 knots, $500; Texas A&M, Maroon Harpoon, 5.022 knots, $250.

Fastest Speed, One Person Propeller, Adademic-Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Archimede 4, 6.473 knots; Texas A&M, Maroon Harpoon, 5.022 knots; University of Michigan, Mercury, 4.958 knots.

Fastest Speed, One Person Propeller, Independent-Don Burton, independent, Sea Car, 0.441 knots.

Fastest Speed, One Person Non-Propeller, Academic-University of Quebec, Omer 6, 4.642 knots; University of Bath, Sea Bomb, 2.092 knots; University of California at San Diego, Sebastion, 2.035 knots.

Fastest Speed, One Person, Non-Propeller, Independent-Bruce Plazyk, Bogus Batoid, 0.854 knots.

Fastest Speed, Two Person Propeller, Academic-University of Quebec, Omer 5, 8.035 knots; Florida Atlantic University, FAU-Boat, 4.796 knots; Western Washington University, Drekar, 4.661 knots.

The one- and two-person teams battled it out against the clock on a 100-meter course at the Navy’s large test tank here.
“We saw an explosion of remarkably innovative new designs this year compared to past races,” said Head Judge Claude Brancart, who is in charge of contestant liaison. He said some of these innovations include “batwing and manta ray-like” power, bird flight wings, whale tails and water wheel turbines in addition to conventional propeller designs. Brancart said speeds have increased steadily over the 18-year history of the event. Mr. Brancart noted that experimental technology in human-powered submarine design has seen increased use of computer-aided variable pitch propellers and electronic underwater navigation systems.

Typical submarine teams consisted of student athlete/engineers, wearing scuba gear as the subs are “wet”, meaning filled with water. Propulsion is provided by team members’ legs driving a sprocket or transmission device attached to shafts and propellers, turbines, or other motion inducing devices. The team from Sussex employed complete body propulsion using both legs and arms.

ISR Executive Director Nancy R. Hussey thanked the U.S. Navy for hosting the event and extended appreciation to volunteers from Carderock . “It is because of the support of the Navy and the wonderful people here at Carderock that this competition has been such a huge success,” she said. “We will continue to provide an opportunity to for bright and creative engineering students to apply their skills in a real-time, in-the-water environment. The ISR provides an education in reality for marine technology and ocean engineering students. We are delighted by their ingenuity and anticipate an even bigger competition in 2009.”

School Teams Participating in 2007:

Sussex County Technical High School, Sparta, NJ
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Ecole de Technologie Superieur, Montreal, PQ, Canada (2)
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
University of Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA
Hernando County Schools, Spring Hill, FL (2)
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Everett Community College, Everett, WA
Millersville University, Millersville, PA
University of Maryland, College Park, MD (2)
University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kingspoint, NY
University of California at San Diego, CA
Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada

Independent Teams Participating:

Bruce Plazyk, Wheaton, IL (2)
Don Burton, Frederick, MD
Team Sub Taxi, Bethesda, MD

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9th INTERNATIONAL SUBRACES
SPEED RESULTS

CARDEROCK, MD. June 28, 2007 -Here are the speed results by division in the 9th International Submarine Races held June 25-29 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Carderock Division David Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, Maryland:

Two Peson Propeller:

  1. 8.035 knots, OMER 5, University of Quebec
  2. 4.795 knots, F-A-U Boat , Florida Atlantic University
  3. 4.775 knots, Drekar, Western Washington University
  4. 4.043 knots, Sub Taxi, Independent

One Person Propeller:

  1. 6.473 knots, Archimede 4, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal
  2. 5.022 knots, Maroon Harpoon, Texas A&M
  3. 4.958 knots, Mercury, University of Michigan
  4. 4.835 knots, Sublime, Hernando County Schools, Spring Hill FL
  5. 3.771 knots, Phantom 5, Virginia Tech
  6. 3.488 knots, Sea Wolf, Hernando County Schools
  7. 2.343 knots, Dive Dawg, University of Washington
  8. 2.262 knots, Swamp Thing, University of Florida
  9. 1.694 knots, U-3.2, Sussex Technical High School, NJ
  10. 1.285 knots, RSR Fourier, University of Maryland
  11. 0.505 knots, Sea Car, Don Burton, Independent

One-Person, Non-Propeller:

  1. 4.642 knots, OMER 6, University of Quebec
  2. 2.092 knots, Sea Bomb, University of Bath, UK
  3. 2.035 knots, Sebastion, University of California San Diego
  4. 0.854 knots, Bogus Batoid, Bruce Plazyk, Independent
  5. 0.499 knots, Battlin’ Pete, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

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NEW WORLD SPEED RECORDS EXPECTED AT 9th INTERNATIONAL SUBRACES

…25 Submarines to Compete in Human-Powered Engineering Design Event…

CARDEROCK, MD. Jan. 19, 2007 -New world speed records are expected to be set when 25 human-powered submarines race against the clock in the 9th International Submarine Races June 24-29, a biennial engineering design competition that challenges the creativity of ocean engineering students, inventors and entrepreneurs.

Twenty-three one- and two-person teams will battle it out for recognition of achievement in categories of use of composite materials, innovation and speed in the week-long event to be held at one of the world’s largest indoor tanks–the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Carderock Division David Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, Maryland. Organizers announce that to increase the degree of difficulty and challenge this year, a three-dimensional slalom course will be set up and tandem races will be conducted between selected teams.

“We have consistently seen young engineers and designers push the limits in order to achieve increased speed and maneuverability,” said Head Judge Claude Brancart, who is in charge of contestant liaison. Brancart points out that speeds have increased steadily over the history of the event, dating back to 1989. In those early days, speeds rarely exceeded three knots. In 2005, Omer 5, a sleek two-person submersible from the University of Quebec’s Ecole de Technologie Superieure (ETS) in Montreal, Canada, set a new two-person speed record of 7.061 knots. The Canadians’ women’s team also set a record of 5.885 knots.

Some of the hottest competition during ISR8 in 2005 occurred in the first-ever side-by-side race between the fastest submarines. Event organizers also held the first race over a slalom course to judge maneuverability. Mr. Brancart notes that experimental technology in human-powered submarine design has seen increased use of computer-aided variable pitch propellers and electronic underwater navigation systems.

ISR9 this June 2007 will be the sixth staging in the 3,200-foot-long David Taylor test tank at NSWC. The submarine race is a competition that invites the participation of universities, colleges, corporations, research centers, high schools and privately sponsored teams from throughout the world. Typical teams consist of student athlete/engineers, wearing scuba gear as the subs are “wet”, meaning filled with water. Propulsion is provided by team members’ legs driving a sprocket or transmission device attached to shafts and propellers. Subs run a 100-meter course against the clock along a fixed underwater course

“The Naval Surface Warfare Center has been proud to host the International Submarine Races at its David Taylor Model Basin,” said Captain Mark W. Thomas, USN, Division Commander. “The United States Navy is pleased to be able to once again support such an outstanding educational and engineering endeavor.”

ISR Executive Director Nancy R. Hussey notes that “the submarine races demonstrate the value of encouraging bright and creative students to apply what they have learned. We continue to be delighted by their ingenuity. The ISR provides an education in reality for marine technology and ocean engineering students by inspiring them to design, build and operate their own submarines. We look forward to continuing this opportunity.”