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Abstract
This report discusses and analyzes a new propulsion system for the USI Solar Splash watercraft. The Solar Splash team finished in third place in the last competition and the team seeks to improve their race results and overall standing. This project aims to assist in improving the team’s placement by proposing and analyzing a design for a new propulsion system. Typically, a drive train includes an assembly of the motor, transmission, shaft, and propeller. The primary focus of the drivetrain was on the design of a new propeller. Two new propeller designs were created, one conventional and the other toroidal, and these propellers were compared using both CFD simulations and in-water testing to determine if the toroidal propeller would give the desired benefits, and if it is more effective than a traditional propeller.