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Spring 2014 Contributions
Foam Filtration
Several designs for simple and compound pulley systems pulley system designs are being evaluated in terms of construction, operating difficulty to compress the foam, difficulty in reseting the plunger and cleaning mechanism, and the range of possible compression speeds. A mock prototype system consisting of of a 55 gallon drum, a disk made from of high density polyethylene, and support system constructed from 80an 80/20 aluminum extensions was built to easily test and swap extension support system was constructed to test different cleaning mechanisms.
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The final design for the 1st iteration of the foam filtration system was completed and approved for fabrication. The design consists of a 55 gallon plastic drum filled with 30 and 90 ppi foam that is elevated above ground. The cleaning system underwent many designs that could be used for future system iterations which are cataloged in . See the final report for these designs. The new cleaning system to be fabricated uses a winch and pulley system to compress a telescoping pipe attached to a disk. A steel frame on top of the drum supports both the cleaning system and the flow controller system for dispensing coagulentcoagulant. Ideally the system would be easy to disassemble for transportation and packaging purposes. The Fall 2013 team has also submitted a proposal of the finalized design for the EPA P3 competition with an application focus towards disaster relief and recovery.
Fall 2013 Mid-Semester Contributions
Performed a mechanical Mechanical failure test testing was performed on two pieces of 30 ppi foam in series using the previous team's setup . Almost reached 200 plunges or cycles before testing had to stop when the column holding the 90 ppi foam fell apart and made a messwith two pieces of 30 ppi foam in series. No visible damage to foam integrity except near the handles that held the string to decompress the foam. A new design for the foam plant is currently underway. Using the foam was observed during 200 cycles of compression with the exception of varying degrees of tearing from using a string threaded through the foam to aid decompression. We are planning a new design with a 23"x 64" PVC drum on an elevated platform instead of multiple PVC columns and supports will simply and metal support structure to simplify some of the design elements, decrease cost, and maintain a solid support structure that can handle the cleaning method used.
Fall 2013 Contributions
I am a As part of the foam filtration team. Our , our current goal is to design and fabricate a 1L/s gravity powered foam filtration plant that can filter produce clean water for small communities on the scale of <1000 people. Design challenges include but are not limited to incorporating a chemical dosing system, a low flow orifice meter, a coagulant contact chamber, 2 or more foam filters working in parallel, and an improved system of cleaning the filters. The completed foam filtration plant is set to be delivered to Honduras on the next trip for installation and on-site data/feedback.