Left to right : Mohamed Barbouchi, Jérôme Leclerc, Maxime Mailloux and Olivier Gomand.

But what exactly is the Archimède project? It's a submarine filled with water, propelled and steered by a pedal system similar to that of a bicycle. A pilot sits inside the vehicle to work the pedals. It took two years of hard work on the part of the group members to develop Archimède V. Having finished in seventh place two years ago with a speed of 4.7 knots, Archimède has made major strides. At nearly three feet in diameter, 12 feet in length and 150 pounds, Archimède V looks a lot like its competitors at first glance. But Archimède is equipped with a reinforced Kevlar cockpit, which adds considerable strength. Few competitors opted to use this material. Also, the submarine's propeller, with an optimal rotation speed of 960 rotations/minute, was equipped with a fibreglass hull that helped speed up the water's passage and increase the vehicle's speed as a result.

Fresh back from their competition, the young Polytechnique students are already thinking about innovative possibilities for the design of Archimède VI. "This third-place win will now allow us to focus on our primary goal for the next competition: setting a new world speed record for a human-propelled submarine!" says Frédéric Bergeron, project member and Treasurer, with a smile on his face.





Archimède is recruiting

Students from all branches of engineering who are interested in the project and who would like to apply the concepts they learn in their classes, get involved and offer innovative ideas are invited to contact the team at archimede@liste.step.polymtl.ca or visit Room B-319. The team is looking to fine-tune its current electrical system, so it is hoping to recruit, among others, electrical engineering students.

Left to right : Dany Desroches and
Olivier Gomand

Congratulations to an inspiring team!

To find out more about Archimède

Founded in 1996, the technical society has 12 members, mainly from mechanical engineering, who share a passion for design. Their mission is to create a single-seat human-propelled submarine in order to enter international competitions every two years. The broad-scale use of non-renewable natural resources is inspiring today's engineers and scientists to turn to alternative energy sources.

Archimède website

To find out more about the International Submarine Races
http://www.isrsubrace.org/