Andrew Sargent's Individual Contribution Page

Summer 2009 Contributions

I worked with Nanditha Ramachandra on creating the Automated Materials List. We went through the Variable Naming Guide and found all the necessary variables to calculate the different volumes and surface areas for each of the plant's components. From those computations, we found the total amount of material needed to construct each component and, ultimately, the entire plant. We then created the Automated Materials List Design Program page and included both the inputs and outputs for the algorithm.

Upon gaining a better understanding of the configuration of the plants, we went through and reconstructed some of our equations to represent the current design process. After improving the calculations, we looked into the idea of including a price list but that idea was later deemed unnecessary.

We successfully ran our completed Materials List through the design tool and fined tuned the wiki page. We also received feedback from the engineers in Honduras. They posed an idea for a more efficient format and we began implementing it. The engineers also explained some of the newer component designs and how we could change the formulas to match the updated plans.

Finally, we made a list of the future challenges for the next students that work on the materials list and also added a link to the design tool server on the materials list wiki page.

Fall 2009 Contributions

I have been working on editing the design of the tanks at the end of the inlet and exit channels. The new design has the tanks cantilever off the side of the sedimentation tank, whereas the old design had the tanks extend from the base of the plant to the top of the sedimentation tank. I have edited the MathCAD file "SedTank - w/Pieces" to change the height of the tanks and to reflect the new design. This new design saves materials and allows for the new drainage system.

I am also editing the AutoCAD script for the design of the distribution and waste piping system (inside "SedTank - w/Pieces"). I am rotating the waste pipe elbow in the exit tank so that it faces the inlet tank. I am also changing the elbow in the inlet channel to a tee so that a pipe can be created that connects the inlet channel to the exit channel for the waste system.

I edited the Inlet and Exit Channel wiki pages to reflect the new design. The Inlet Channel page was replaced with the Inlet Channel Weir page, which has all the updated information on the channel design. I also edited the information on the exit channel weirs to reflect the changes in the new design and address weir specifications. I changed the information on determining the geometry of the exit channel to take weir design (perpendicular or parallel to length of the channel)into account.

I have further edited the design of the inlet channel tank so that it does not hang off the side of the sedimentation tank. The new design makes the sedimentation tank symmetrical by shifting the inlet tank inward to reflect the design of the exit channel tank.

The inner exit weir elbow has been rotated to face the inlet tank to allow for a connecting pipe for the drainage system. The inlet weir elbow has been transformed to a tee so that the both the exit and inlet tank can have the same drainage system.

I edited the details in the inlet channel design program wiki page so that the exit weir specifications for design are more clear. I also deleted the Inlet Channel Weir wiki page because it was used to replace the inlet channel design page and is no longer needed.

Pages Created

Automated Materials List Design Program
Automated Materials List Inputs
Automated Materials List Outputs