Aggie-Powered Submarine Shines At International Competition
The 12th Mantaray, Texas A&M University’s human-powered submarine, completed eight out of 15 attempts with a top speed of 4.4 knots at the 2016 European International Submarine Races (EISR) at the QinetiQ Ocean Basin in Gosport, England. Based on speed, it was the fourth fastest submarine out of the 11 subs in the competition.
The 12th Mantaray also received the QinetiQ Prize for the most dramatic event when the submarine went from being horizontal to vertical, but the student piloting the sub was able to recover and complete the race.
The races involved teams of university students who design, build, test and race human-powered submarines around a slalom course. The basic design and build process of the submarine consisted of five components: hull, propulsion, transmission, pilot safety and ergonomics, and control. This year teams from the United States, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and the United Kingdom competed in the races.
Texas A&M’s team was made up of Kevin Ariyanonthaka (pilot), Martina Garcia (co-team leader), Ben Torsion (co-team leader), Jake Taylor, McKenzie Griffith, Aaron Rambo and Jose Lacal. Earlier this year, it was the first team to officially qualify for the races.
Ariyanonthaka was the sole source of propulsion for the submarine as he pedaled the fully submerged submarine wearing scuba gear.
This article by Shraddha Sankhe originally appeared in the Texas A&M College of Engineering website.