Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Engineering
During the construction period of this buoy, I will be considered the structural engineer. A structural engineer works solely on the makeup of the final solution. I myself will be concerned with the outer skeleton of the buoy itself. While two of my partners are working on the electronic system that will be placed inside my structure, my other partner will be concerning herself with the buoyancy of the overall buoy. Overall, my job in the construction of this buoy is to build a structural skeleton that will hold together in the water and be capable of holding all the equipment the electronic engineers will be placing inside of it.
Manufacturing
My part of this product will be using an American system of manufacturing. This is defined as a type of manufacturing that involves semi-skilled workers machines, tools, or templates. Parts of a structure in an American system of manufacturing interchangeable and mass produced. The products being used to build the structural aspect of the buoy include PVC piping and fittings (different styles can be seen in Figure 3), as well as anchor chain and a plastic heavy duty bucket. These are all things that are massed produced and interchangeable, but need to be cut and put together by a semi-skilled workers.
Categories
The only category I will be using in my design is the construction. Once I receive all the pieces I need to build my buoy, I will simply cut them to the proper sizes and construct the final buoy. The proper in depth procedure of how the structural aspect of the buoy will be constructed can be seen in my plan of procedure on my blog. My partner Amy will be working with physics and buoyancy. My other two partners, Amanda and Elizabeth, will be working on electronics. They will be connecting all sensors to a computer and a data logger to work without any outside energy source. So the overall buoy will be using construction, physics, and electronics in the final manufacturing steps. Below in Figure 4 is an exploded view of my final solution, which shows how the buoy will be constructed.
Categories
The only category I will be using in my design is the construction. Once I receive all the pieces I need to build my buoy, I will simply cut them to the proper sizes and construct the final buoy. The proper in depth procedure of how the structural aspect of the buoy will be constructed can be seen in my plan of procedure on my blog. My partner Amy will be working with physics and buoyancy. My other two partners, Amanda and Elizabeth, will be working on electronics. They will be connecting all sensors to a computer and a data logger to work without any outside energy source. So the overall buoy will be using construction, physics, and electronics in the final manufacturing steps. Below in Figure 4 is an exploded view of my final solution, which shows how the buoy will be constructed.
Science - Surveying and Tension
Surveying
Part of the science included in the final solution of my buoy includes surveying the Sandy Hook Bay. In order to deploy my buoy in the most logical location, I must know the depths of the bay very well. From a very general project I had done last year in physics, it was very obvious that the depths in the bay vary vastly every mile. This means that I must know the exact depth of the location I plan on deploying rather than just a general area’s depth, if I do not want to run into problems. If I do not have enough chain for a certain location, the anchor will pull my buoy under water. If the buoy has too much slack, it will drift too far from its location of launch. NOAA does much work with this kind of science, especially here in the Sandy Hook Bay. I hope to be working with NOAA to receive data on the depths of Sandy Hook and then deciding with my partner the most logical place to deploy the final product. After decided what location we plan on deploying the buoy, it is up to me to calculate how much anchor chain will be needed to reach the anchor, the bottom of the buoy, and continue up to the outward support PVC pipes. is an image of the general depths in the Sandy Hook Bay from a few years ago.
Tension
Another science aspect in my project involves tension. Tension, the force that pulls or stretches an object, is accredited to ancient Greeks and Romans. This is very important when I am considering the length of the anchor chain. If I make the chain too long for the site, the buoy will be able to drift farther away from the anchor. This would create a safety hazard for boaters as well as threaten the integrity of the buoy itself. If the line I decide to use is too short for the site I deploy the buoy, the force of the anchor will be stronger than that of the buoy and the anchor will pull it under water. This would most likely ruin all the equipment, as well as apply too much force on the foam hull, tearing it apart and detaching the rest of the buoy. By spreading the anchor chain between multiple lines on the buoy rather than one area, I will be spreading the tension the anchor forces on the buoy into four separate areas rather than just one. Figure 5 shows a similar simplified image, with the force being spread between two separate chains.
Part of the science included in the final solution of my buoy includes surveying the Sandy Hook Bay. In order to deploy my buoy in the most logical location, I must know the depths of the bay very well. From a very general project I had done last year in physics, it was very obvious that the depths in the bay vary vastly every mile. This means that I must know the exact depth of the location I plan on deploying rather than just a general area’s depth, if I do not want to run into problems. If I do not have enough chain for a certain location, the anchor will pull my buoy under water. If the buoy has too much slack, it will drift too far from its location of launch. NOAA does much work with this kind of science, especially here in the Sandy Hook Bay. I hope to be working with NOAA to receive data on the depths of Sandy Hook and then deciding with my partner the most logical place to deploy the final product. After decided what location we plan on deploying the buoy, it is up to me to calculate how much anchor chain will be needed to reach the anchor, the bottom of the buoy, and continue up to the outward support PVC pipes. is an image of the general depths in the Sandy Hook Bay from a few years ago.
Tension
Another science aspect in my project involves tension. Tension, the force that pulls or stretches an object, is accredited to ancient Greeks and Romans. This is very important when I am considering the length of the anchor chain. If I make the chain too long for the site, the buoy will be able to drift farther away from the anchor. This would create a safety hazard for boaters as well as threaten the integrity of the buoy itself. If the line I decide to use is too short for the site I deploy the buoy, the force of the anchor will be stronger than that of the buoy and the anchor will pull it under water. This would most likely ruin all the equipment, as well as apply too much force on the foam hull, tearing it apart and detaching the rest of the buoy. By spreading the anchor chain between multiple lines on the buoy rather than one area, I will be spreading the tension the anchor forces on the buoy into four separate areas rather than just one. Figure 5 shows a similar simplified image, with the force being spread between two separate chains.
Technology - PVC pipe
PVC piping was chosen as the most logical material for building this buoy because it is cheap and easy to use. However before making a final decision, I had to do some mathematical equations to ensure this material would be strong enough to support the systems that will be used in the final product. First, I had to learn the differences between different PVC pipes.
The two main types of PVC pipe are schedule 40 and schedule 80. The term “schedule” refers to the thickness of the pipe’s wall, not its diameter. This in turn refers to how much pressure the pipe will hold. After doing some research, I discovered that schedule 40 PVC pipe is most often used in aquaculture applications. This is because it is not only cheap and easy to come by, but it is also so strong that it will not be distorted even when being walked on by a person. After deciding to use PVC schedule 40 pipe due to all the recommendations I had found online, I thought it would be important to research the amount of pressure it can withstand. The minimum amount of pressure required to make the pipes burst is 890 psi. The maximum operating pressure of the pipe is 166 psi. In the image, you can see a chart representing the bursting pressure and maximum operating pressure for PVC schedule 40 pipe, indicated in red (engineeringtoolbox.com). Although schedule 80 piping can obviously withstand more pressure, ocean pressure is very small at the surface, so these pipes will work just perfectly. Also, it is highly recommended that a person using PVC pipes for aquaculture purposes use schedule 40 PVC pipe.
The two main types of PVC pipe are schedule 40 and schedule 80. The term “schedule” refers to the thickness of the pipe’s wall, not its diameter. This in turn refers to how much pressure the pipe will hold. After doing some research, I discovered that schedule 40 PVC pipe is most often used in aquaculture applications. This is because it is not only cheap and easy to come by, but it is also so strong that it will not be distorted even when being walked on by a person. After deciding to use PVC schedule 40 pipe due to all the recommendations I had found online, I thought it would be important to research the amount of pressure it can withstand. The minimum amount of pressure required to make the pipes burst is 890 psi. The maximum operating pressure of the pipe is 166 psi. In the image, you can see a chart representing the bursting pressure and maximum operating pressure for PVC schedule 40 pipe, indicated in red (engineeringtoolbox.com). Although schedule 80 piping can obviously withstand more pressure, ocean pressure is very small at the surface, so these pipes will work just perfectly. Also, it is highly recommended that a person using PVC pipes for aquaculture purposes use schedule 40 PVC pipe.
Math- anchoring
A very important aspect on my final product is going to be how I anchor this buoy. I mentioned this earlier in the report, under science. The major aspect is tension. The anchor and chain will be pulling on the buoy in order to keep it in place. It is very important that the chain is not applying any force when there is no tide, or else the buoy will be pulled under water. On the other hand, it is important that the buoy applies some force on the buoy when the tide picks up in order to stop the buoy from drifting far from its deployment site (an image of loosely anchored buoys can be seen in the picture). This means I have to calculate the depth of the deployment site, as stated above in the science section. Then I have to determine how much of the buoy will be under water with all the equipment inside the container. From here, I must calculate the height of the anchor, and subtract it from the site’s depth. The equation I will use will look something like this:
Chain length= Site’s Depth – height of anchor – length of buoy under water + (4*chain needed to extend to each outer support)
This equation will give me the final length of chain needed to anchor my final buoy. In case of a mistake, I will make sure to have a chain that extends slightly longer than my necessary calculations. I will be able to trim off any extra chain if needed, but leaves some room for mistakes.
Since I do not know what equipment will be on the buoy thus far (including test
taking equipment and solar panels), I cannot complete this calculation. A single solar panel will make a very large difference in the weight of the buoy. I have come up with this equation to ensure that I can do the calculations correctly when I am given all the final information.
Chain length= Site’s Depth – height of anchor – length of buoy under water + (4*chain needed to extend to each outer support)
This equation will give me the final length of chain needed to anchor my final buoy. In case of a mistake, I will make sure to have a chain that extends slightly longer than my necessary calculations. I will be able to trim off any extra chain if needed, but leaves some room for mistakes.
Since I do not know what equipment will be on the buoy thus far (including test
taking equipment and solar panels), I cannot complete this calculation. A single solar panel will make a very large difference in the weight of the buoy. I have come up with this equation to ensure that I can do the calculations correctly when I am given all the final information.
Weekly Log February 23
So far this week, I have finished all of my drawings and my STEMM report! This means I am now caught up with the rest of our class, so I can work on the same pace with everyone else. Today, I started working on my Press Release. Originally, the due date was this Friday but it was moved back until next Friday. I have finished the introduction and have a small part of the body finished. Today, I plan on going to Home Depot to buy some PVC fittings so that I can hopefully start constructing this week. I hope to be done with the simple structure by the end of Friday, leaving me all of next week to continue on with the Press Release.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Weekly Log Feb 17- Bid process update
Today, Mr. Alfonse and I found a supply of PVC pipe that is just what i need to complete the structure for my buoy. This means I will not have to do a bid process for the pipes. For a bucket, I have researched and realized they cost only around $6.00, so I will buy one myself.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Weekly Log February 16
Last week, we did not have many days of school due to the snow. I was in Florida Thursday through Monday to visit a college as well. This means I had very little time to work on any school work this past week. This week, I will wrap up my STEMM report. I have to finish my math section and then my conclusion. This should not take me too long. I plan to have my STEMM report as well as my perfected exploded view completed by this Friday. This would make me caught up with the rest of the class. After this work is done, I will be getting my materials and get started on my construction!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Weekly Log February 4
During the course of this week, I have finished filling in my calendar. This includes all due dates and what I am going to do beforehand to insure all my work is completed in a timely fashion. I have written on my calendar what I plan on doing for almost every class period. All empty days will be used to complete work that I might not have finished from earlier. If all work is finished, I will use that time to work ahead. Also this week, I have started my STEMM report. Yesterday I worked on the introduction and the addition of pictures. To add on to all of this, Amy and I made some slight changes in our final solution. We plan on sinking the container into the foam rather than having it rest on top of the foam. I have redrawn my Orthographic view, 2 magnified views, and my isometric view. All i have left is my isometric exploded view. This leaves me with a good amount of work to do in the next few days, but i believe it is able to be accomplished.
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