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We have constructed two pumps: an electrolysis-driven gas pump and a screw pump. We also worked on the power supply, which has two components: a circuit and a computer program with an interface.
| Week | Reporting Period Beginning | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | We met with our group and got acquainted. We also assigned roles and roughly discussed the project. |
| 2 | September 10 | We met with our client, Tom Pearce, to see his current pump. He presented the design specifications for the project. We then divided the team into pairs to undertake background research and work on the project separately for the first few weeks. |
| 3 | September 17 | We met with Professor Block, our advisor, and discussed the PDS. We also continued our background research. |
| 4 | September 24 | The whole team met to coordinate the activities of each pair. We briefly touched base about which routes each pair was going to take. We also attended a Team Building lecture, and then met with Professor Block. BWIG representatives started working on the team project website. |
| 5 | October 1 | The pairs met to elaborate three design ideas each. The team members brainstormed pump designs and undertook patent searches to ascertain the originality of their ideas. |
| 6 | October 8 | The team met at the CAE lab to discuss their chosen designs and started preparing for the October 8 presentation. Each pair presented their chosen design on October 8. After the meeting, the whole team met with Tom Pearce, the client, to discuss his first impression of the ideas presented. |
| 7 | October 15 | With the motivation of our client, we decided to pursue two designs: the electrolysis pump and the screw pump. We started working on acquiring the parts for both pumps in order to start the prototyping process. |
| 8 | October 22 | With the designs still in the beginning stages, we continued researching part prices. Joe directed his efforts on implementing a user interface into the control system, which consisted of software and hardware. |
| 9 | October 29 | Most of the part research was concluded and projective costs were predicted. Parts that needed to be ordered were ordered and parts that needed to be barrowed were sought after. Karim started researching a potential circuit that would allow us to use the voltage from a power source to our advantage. Joe researched possible ways to control the voltage coming from the computer’s serial port using LabView. |
| 10 | November 5 | All of the parts for the screw pump came in and the construction began. We are still waiting on a few materials for electrolysis but what can be constructed was constructed. Joe has started to learn about LabView and its VI's that are capable of controlling our pumps and acquiring data. |
| 11 | November 12 | All of the parts of the electrolysis pump have come in and prototyping of that pump has begun. Joe has concluded that there is no way to control the serial port voltage so he has directed his efforts to Data Acquisition Ports as the means to connect the computer to the pumps. |
| 12 | November 19 | Wally Block directed us to a very cheap but effective DAQ called LabJack. It has digital and analog inputs and outputs. Specifically, we want to use the digital inputs and analog outputs so that our digital signal is converted into an analog signal to be used by the motor. Joe will work on implementing it into our control system. Steve worked on preventing leakage from his screw pump and Ibrahim worked on getting his electrolysis pump working because the salt bridge was not working correctly. Everyone else helped in the prototyping process. |
| 13 | November 26 | The electrolysis is working now but the screw pump still leaks profusely. Even after caulking the high density polyethylene block and putting an o-ring around the screw, the water still leaks out of the back of the block. Preliminary data about the two pumps’ flow rates was also collected. Joe calibrated the DAQ and found a VI that would help us vary voltage to the pumps. The only thing that needs work is being able to amplify the signal because 5 volts is the maximum output of the LabJack. We will have to include a non-inverting op-amp and maybe other circuit elements to achieve a gain of 5. |
| 14 | December 3 | With the assistance of Burke O’Neal, a circuit was set up that would achieve a gain of 5 and an ultimate voltage of 25 volts. It helped to establish a user interface because now LabView could produce a digital signal, and the LabJack in combination with the circuit, could amplify and convert the signal for use in the pumps. Our group presented its final presentation to the public. We had both pumps functioning with a user interface that included LabView and LabJack. We also worked on our project paper. |
| 15 | December 10 | Ultimately, we chose the electrolysis pump as our chosen design and our client wants us to continue perfecting it. The major thing that needs to be improved is the fact that it cannot be reversed, but Ibrahim strongly believes that he can find a solution. We put finishing touches on our project paper and completed it. |
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Midsemester Presentation (Oct 7 2004, 3027 kb) |
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Product Design Specification (Oct 15 2004, 21 kb) |
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Midsemester Report (Oct 15 2004, 330 kb) |
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Multistream Flowrate Controller Poster (Dec 8 2004, 1931 kb) |
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Multistream Flowrate Controller Final Paper (Dec 8 2004, 1610 kb) |
