I am creating a catamaran-style ‘robot’ - it will collect surface debris.
Size: 600mm long, 400mm total width.
It will pull a net or other collection device between the two hulls.
I’m designing for a speed approximately of a walking pace, max 6km/hr, (about 1.8m/sec) although this may change as the project progresses, and I come to grips with reality!
I expect that it will need to cope with considerable drag at that speed. I’ve calculated 62N-M, (46.4 ft-lbs), as a max; although by reducing the speed, I can drastically reduce the drag.
So, I need a pair of motors and drive trains that can produce this amount of thrust. Questions about batteries can come after I know what motors I need.
Most motors seem to be designed to max out the rpm’s, which is great for aircraft, but most boats run at a slower speed. Geared motors are available, but how many rpm’s?
How do I calculate the amount of thrust generated by a propeller, at this size?
I know that some of this has to be trial and error, but I’d like to limit that.
Does anyone where I can find this type of information? Any suggestions?
