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This semester I am working with Andrew Sargent on the Drain Channel. We are working on writing a code in MathCAD so the design can be automated as part of the Design Tool. Thus far we have gathered information and feedback from Monroe and the engineers in Honduras about what the basic geometry of the channel should be, where it is positioned and how water flows in and out of it. We also determined what assumptions can be made to help us determined the size of the cross-section and depth of the channel, and how to code it, and calculated the equations to be used. We are working on the iterative function that will determine the headloss based on the flow rate out of the drain valves, which in term will determine all other dimensions. Once this is finished, we can begin coding the actual channel into the proper location.
The first approach we took to coding the channel was drawing a channel with a wedge below, unioning the two objects, subtracting out the inside to make it a hollow channel, then rotating the object down so it was sloped and build up the walls. This method turned out to have a number of problems and was extremely complicated. May helped us create a Loft function in MathCAD and we revised our approach to define two 10-point cross-sections of either end of the channel. Then these two cross sections are lofted together to form the channel. The channel is now completely drawn and ready for testing. It is drawn with a conservative approach so that the rectangular portion is drawn to the calculated values of headloss with the triangular wedge shaped portion adding extra depth for an over-design. This can be something future teams can work on.
Spring 2010 Contributions
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