pic: Green Machine Competition - 10 Cell Fuel Cell Stack

[Conor Ryan]

Originally Posted by Stuart

so whats the risk of fire/explosion if one of the hydrogen tanks gets damaged

I was waiting for someone to ask that question, it's no joke, hydrogen is best described as a Invisible Explosive. When we recieved out kit for the project at school, we weren't there to sign it, so when they saw this:

They freaked out.

We take every precaution neccessary (actually it's a rule of the game I think) when assembling the fuel cell (such as working on it in a lab environment). Right now, hydrogen isn't even allowed into venues of the competition (see original email blast). Phase 3 of the Green Machine Competition (released yesterday) is titled, "Design a Fuel Cell "Green Machine" Game and Hydrogen Safe Game Floor. They elaborate on it with one of the design parameters being,

Originally Posted by Green Machine Phase 3 Rules

No robot to robot contact, include a SAFETY FEATURE with 10 m.p.h. safety impact margin in case there is contact - no parts ejected or broken, robots retain motor function after collision, include rules for penalty points.

There is no such thing as a completely safe game, even games like Tag, have people that get hurt, so it's a touchy subject. I'd imagine an almost battle bots like venue with walls and everything.